Stay with Me
by fiction over reality
Summary: AU. Draco is a modern day wiccan and he casts a binding spell on Harry. Throughout the story, they explore the boundaries of the bond and links of the past. Secrets are revealed, lives are changed, and love is found.
1. Wiccan in the Woods

It was a chilly night. Snow had fallen only the night before. The frozen leftovers of it crunched under his feet. He was staring down at his feet, feeling the coolness of the snow, imagining what it would feel like to be walking barefoot. He looked quite comical wrapped in his enormous winter jacket and oversized snow cap, hands jammed in his pockets. The scarf around his neck was looped over many times but it was still long enough to graze the ground. He'd accidentally stepped on it a few times and as such the frayed ends were covered in bits of snow. His glasses were sticking out between the snow cap and his scarf, the metal frame cold against his face. His nose was the one taking the brunt of it however; it was frozen red. He sniffled every few seconds and took out his gloved hands out of his pockets to cover his nose and pray for it to warm up if only a little.

It had been snowing almost every night for the past month but that hadn't kept him from his nightly strolls. If anything, he looked forward to the end of his days so that he could put on his giant's clothes and go for a walk. The way that the moonlight shone off of the smooth undisturbed surface of the snow looked serene and magical; it had a hold on him. Its pull had been especially strong tonight.

"Come on, Harry!" Said Hermione from further ahead, waving him forward.

She was dressed similarly, only her clothes fit her better and looked new instead of frayed and faded. Her hair looked darker and her complexion fairer in the mysterious light of the snowy landscape. Everyone and everything looked different here; he could almost believe the impossible when he was here. He could be anyone he wanted, do anything he wanted.

He in turn looked back at Ron and waved him forward. "Come on, Ron!"

He smiled at Ron's red face. Only he could manage to not look elegant or mysterious in this light. Ron would always be Ron.

"It's so cold!" Ron shouted so that they could both hear him. The stillness of the snow brought that effect with it; it muffled all other sounds. "How is it so cold?"

"Come on, you two!" Cried Hermione impatiently. "I see a fire up ahead, we can go warm up there!"

"And if the homeless people who are using it don't feel like sharing it with us?" Ron replied, looking like an army couldn't stop him from getting to that fire regardless.

"I'm sure they're very nice people," Hermione answered promptly, always ready to defend anyone and anything.

He and Ron picked up their pace to catch up to Hermione. As magical as the scenery was, they were all frozen to the core and some heat would have been very welcome. Soon, Harry was able to see the fire as well. They were walking on the sidewalk near the street and a few paces to their right was the woods. The fire was flickering from a clearing a ways ahead.

"Odd place for the homeless, don't you think?" Ron asked as the three of them stood on the sidewalk for a minute, all thinking the same thing.

"Oh, they can go wherever they please," Hermione said, brushing it off. "That's their freedom. Now come on, I'll freeze to death if we stand here any longer."

"Harry, I know you love these walks, but do we have to take them when it's so bloody cold out?" Ron asked as they fell in line behind Hermione and made their way to the clearing.

"No one forced you to come," said Harry indignantly.

"Well, no, but you don't expect us to let you wander around on your own, do you?" Ron pressed on. "Who knows what could happen."

Harry shivered from the cold. "I'm not so sure about that. But you are right about it being too cold. I guess we'll have to put off these walks until it warms up a little."

Ron clapped him on the back. "There you go."

They were in the midst of the trees now. It was eerily quiet. There was no sign of any animals, not even the snow bunnies that Harry knew were usually here. The trees were bare as it was winter and so it was easy to keep their eyes on their target.

Harry tilted his head up. the branches were reaching towards the sky and intertwining together. Through the webs of their branches, he could see millions of stars. He sighed, feeling calm and at peace. The world was huge and he was a small part of it. It all took his breath away, how things connected and worked together. It gave him hope that he was a part of the mechanism of life and that his existence wasn't a random and unnecessary happenance.

"A perk of living in a rural area as opposed to those big cities, eh?" Ron asked, elbowing Harry gently, looking up at the stars with him.

"Yeah," Harry sighed again happily.

"I'll remind you of that the next time you complain about our 'boring old town'," Hermione sing-songed back at them.

Harry and Ron grinned sheepishly.

"Hey, look," said Ron as they got closer to the source of the fire. "There's just one person there."

Harry looked ahead. There was a barrel fire in the clearing and a person was standing over it.

"Maybe he killed all the other homeless and now he's feasting on their cooked bodies," taunted Ron.

"Hush, Ron!" Said Hermione fervently. "He might hear us! And that's an awful thing to say!"

"So I have to be nice just because he's homeless?" Ron asked indignantly.

"Yes!" Hermione hissed. "Now be quiet!"

Ron put his hands up in surrender as they entered the clearing. Harry looked at the figure by the barrel. He stopped mid step when he saw what the man was wearing.

"You're not freezing?" Asked Ron, also shocked, as the figure came into clear view.

Hermione glared daggers at Ron, but until then her own eyes had been pasted on the stranger with confusion.

The strange man said nothing and only smiled. Harry could not stop looking at his flimsy looking top and skinny black jeans. His silvery blonde hair fell into his eyes and gave him a sinister look over the orange flames of the fire.

"I don't get cold," the stranger said slowly, looking Ron in the eye.

Harry saw Ron visibly shiver. The stranger's voice was like a melody; soothing and arousing. It made Harry relax but be more alert at the same time. He'd never heard a voice like that. He stared harder at the stranger who definitely was not homeless.

"I see," Ron said weakly.

"We were wondering if you'd be kind enough to share your fire with us," said Hermione politely.

The stranger nodded and inched backwards to invite them to step in closer. They circled around the barrel, warming their hands and discreetly stealing looks at the stranger. The atmosphere was awkward and the minutes dragged on as no one said anything.

"It's a fine night for a stroll," Hermione said desperately. Harry suspected that she wanted to hear the stranger's voice again as much as he did.

The stranger looked Hermione in the eye. "Nights are fine for many a thing."

Hermione shivered and blew in her hands, breaking the eye contact. Harry wasn't sure if he should be scared or enticed. There was an otherworldly glow to the strange man and he indeed did not look cold.

"If you're not cold, then why are you standing over the barrel of fire?" He heard himself ask. He was as surprised to hear himself speak as the stranger seemed to be.

The stranger turned to fully face him and looked Harry in the eyes. Harry was at once mesmerized by the silvery blue eyes staring into his soul.

"I was waiting for you," the stranger said.

As his melodic voice travelled through him, Harry shivered uncontrollably.

"You mean you knew we were coming?" Ron broke in. "Like a psychic or something?"

Harry was glad of the interruption. That gaze had been a powerful grip and yet he felt a yearning inside him to grab the attention of its owner once more.

"Something like that," the stranger nodded at Ron.

"There is no such thing as psychics," declared Hermione, momentarily overcome by her need to state this fact instead of being polite.

Draco extended his hand towards her. "Then there will be no harm in me reading your palm."

Hermione held herself straight and looked at the proffered hand. Harry could see the internal struggle between turning down a challenge and giving her hand to a strange man in the middle of the woods. She finally put her hand out and waited.

The stranger turned over her hand and ran a finger over the lines there. Hermione's cheeks grew rosier than they had been. Ron looked at the stranger suspiciously. Harry felt like groaning. He was with Hermione on psychics.

"Am I going to meet a tall, dark, stranger and fall in love?" Hermione asked sarcastically. There was a hint of a tremor in her voice, but no one commented on it.

"No, you've already met the one that you are destined to be with," the stranger replied, staring intently at her palm.

Hermione bit her lower lip.

"You'll stay in this town for university although you'll get better offers," the stranger continued.

"See, you're wrong about that," Hermione interjected. "I have been wanting to leave this place for as long as I can remember."

"You'll stay in this town," the stranger repeated. "Because the one you love will stay here."

The stranger's eyes flicked towards Ron. Harry smiled. This was entertaining after all. Hermione took her hand back and looked at the fire, her chin set stubbornly.

"There wasn't anything psychic about that," she said. "You're just good at reading people."

"That is a correct observation, but I'm actually a wiccan," the stranger said with a smile.

Ron snickered. "A modern day witch? Like one of those hippies that collects herbs and chants weird things for 'rituals'?"

The stranger looked at Ron solemnly. Ron sobered up in a matter of seconds. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," he clarified. "We'd love to see a ritual."

"Very well," the stranger said.

His voice was undeniable and sweet as syrup; it poured over the words and made them sound new and exciting. They seemed to blend in with the environment around them and Harry was sure that they were powerful enough to melt snow.

They watched as the stranger started pulling things out of his pocket. A small cotton doll shaped like a human, a glass jar, and some paper. He then bent down and picked up a small stick.

"I'll do a binding ritual for you," the stranger informed them.

"On whom?" Asked Hermione, her voice not so confident anymore.

"On him," the stranger said, looking at Harry.

"Me?" Harry croaked.

The stranger nodded. "Tell me your name."

"Harry," said Harry slowly, wondering at the sanity of it all. The night had suddenly gotten colder, and if possible, even more silent. His imagination was running wild. On this night, anything could happen.

"My name is Draco," the stranger said as he started unscrewing the glass jar.

"N-nice to meet you," stammered Harry, staring at the cotton doll.

"Is that doll supposed to be Harry?" Ron asked quietly, eyes wide.

"Don't be so superstitious, Ron," Hermione reprimanded him, her own voice low and shaky.

Harry looked at the stranger, Draco, as he started to burn the doll while chanting something. The words sounded ancient and powerful. He seemed completely in control of them, as if he knew exactly what he was doing and there was no cause for worry. Harry felt himself relax again.

The fire consumed the small doll and its ashes were stored in the glass jar. The stick was held over the fire to char it and some words that had no meaning to Harry were written on the piece of paper and stored in the jar as well. At last, the jar was screwed shut and the ritual was over.

Draco looked up at Harry.

"Harry?" Ron asked, concerned. "How are you feeling?"

"Like myself," Harry replied, shrugging.

"Of course he is," said Hermione, looking relieved. "I'm sorry, Sir-Draco, but we must be going now."

Draco didn't say anything, he only nodded, his eyes still on Harry. Harry could feel his eyes on his back long after they'd left the clearing. The truth was that he did feel different; he felt a strange pull towards that man-Draco. He hadn't been able to stop looking at the jar until Draco had pocketed it and afterwards he had felt relieved and sure that it would be safe there.


	2. Stranger in My Bed

They said their solemn goodbyes as Hermione and Ron turned to go to their respective houses. Harry found himself taking slow and reluctant steps towards his uncle's house. It was always a struggle; making himself go back there. It wasn't that they were especially cruel to him, he just didn't belong there. They were different people; they cared about appearances and had a strong love for the material world. In his fifteen years with them he'd learned to escape to nature to get away from their extreme materialism. Somehow the beauty he found in nature was always enough to calm him down and distract him.

He turned into their driveway and looked at the garden. He was maintaining it as best as he could during the winter, but he already yearned for the smell of flowers in the spring. As much as he liked the serenity of the snow, he also missed how life swirled around in spring.

He looked back around the street. He felt eyes on him still, but could see no one. Shrugging, he climbed up the tree next to his room and went through the second-story window. He could make this climb in his sleep; he'd been doing it since a young age, even before he'd met Hermione and Ron. It was the only way he could escape the Dursleys. He did chores around the house until after dinner, and then it was finally time to do what he liked. At first he'd only stayed awake reading books with a flashlight under his blanket. But before long, he'd felt the pull of the outside world. Instead of risking the front door and the creaky steps, he'd learned to use the tree outside his window. It was funny that the tree had suddenly appeared there when Harry had found the desire to leave his room. A delightful coincidence, surely. He hadn't even noticed the tree until a snowy owl had taken residence there and started hooting. It was hard to imagine that he hadn't seen such an ancient looking tree outside his window before, but then again, it was probably due to the wrong power of his glasses. Harry had learned not to question things that suddenly appeared, like his friendship with Ron and Hermione after he'd decided that he would never find any friends thanks to Dudley.

He kicked off his shoes and took off his glasses, sitting on the bed. He listened hard to the sounds outside his room, but it seemed that the house was still happily asleep. The snowy owl hooted softly as it landed on the tree branch outside his window. He didn't need glasses to see the magnificent white colour.

"Hey, Hedwig," he whispered softly to the owl. "Happy hunting?"

Hedwig hooted discontentedly. It seemed that he was missing spring as well.

"I have some stale bread if you want to share it," Harry offered.

Hedwig hooted with indignation and flew off. Harry sighed. He'd offended his only company. He felt strangely alone. He'd been alone most of his life; he had learned to enjoy and even welcome it at times. But he hadn't felt lonely like this for a long time. He thought again about what had taken place that night. He couldn't remember what the stranger, Draco, had looked like exactly, but those mesmerizing eyes were burned into his memory. He could see them even now, those powerful eyes with that mysterious pull.

He blinked. It wasn't just his memory, he could actually see those two orbs hovering over him. He snatched his glasses and stood up in shock.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He said furiously, keeping his voice low on account of not being discovered. If the Dursleys stepped in to find a dangerous looking stranger in his room, he was screwed.

"I followed you home, of course," Draco replied loudly, a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"Keep your voice down!" Harry said furiously under his breath.

"Why?" Asked Draco, lowering his voice a little, looking curious.

"If my uncle finds us, I'm dead!" Harry replied. "But that's not the point. What the hell are you doing here? You can't just break into people's houses like this!"

"What people?" Said Draco indignantly. "You are my bonded. I can follow you wherever I please."

"This is about that rubbish?" Muttered Harry, rubbing his forehead. "Look, it was a nice performance and all, but it's over. Go home. Please."

"Performance?" Said Draco, frowning. "I assure you, a binding ritual is no joke."

"I don't have time for this new age crap," said Harry in hushed tones. "Now leave."

"Or what?" Said Draco. "As I see it I have the upper hand here. You're scared of your uncle waking up and finding me here, and the only thing keeping me from making a loud noise is my desire to not anger you. Now it seems to me that we got off on the wrong foot."

"Look, I don't know what you're on about, and I am sure you are a very nice person, but I have no time for this nonsense. Please leave."

"I am not going anywhere. The problem here is that you don't believe that we're bonded. As soon as you see that we are, you'll stop trying to push me away. Let me prove it to you. If I fail to do that, I will leave."

"Fine, fine," Harry murmured defeatedly. This was what happened when you met a witch in the woods. They showed up at your house acting righteous and demanding things from you. The sooner this spectacle was over, the sooner he could go back to his life. At this point, he was ready to give Draco anything to make him leave. Uncle Vernon's snoring had gotten dangerously loud, as it usually did when he was on the verge of waking.

"Excellent," exclaimed Draco with a satisfied smile, rubbing his hands together. "Now, the rules of a bond are simple. As my bonded, you do what I ask as long as it isn't too far from your character. For example, if I ask you to kill someone but it's not in your nature, that won't work. But if I ask you to let me stay the night and it is in your nature to be hospitable, you wouldn't be able to refuse me."

"That's ridiculous," Harry hissed. "Do you really believe this crap?"

Draco looked offended. Harry sighed.

"I'm a very good judge of character," said Draco soberly. "I can tell you wouldn't be able to kick me out if I ordered you to let me stay."

"You know what, I changed my mind," said Harry angrily. "I'm not playing along any longer. Leave. Now."

"Harry, I will sleep on the bed. You sleep on the floor," said Draco in a commanding voice, maintaining eye contact with Harry.

"That will work," replied Harry, moving to lie down on the floor and offering his bed to Draco.

Draco sat on the bed, smiling pleasantly at Harry on the ground. Harry's head suddenly jerked up.

"What the hell was that?" He muttered, gritting his teeth together. "How did you do that?"

"I told you, as my bonded, you are obligated to do as I ask," said Draco happily.

"No, get-" Harry tried to say, but stopped half way. "Le-"

He couldn't say it. He couldn't ask Draco to leave. His mouth opened in shock. "Stop it right now!"

"Stop what?" Draco asked innocently.

"Whatever holds you have on me, drop it now," said Harry.

"Ah, so you're starting to believe," said Draco pleasantly.

"I said no such thing," said Harry. "And even if you're putting me under hypnosis to do your bidding, you should know that it's illegal and that you could be arrested for it."

"It's not hypnosis," said Draco, shaking his head sadly. "I told you, you are bound to me. I can see that you're stubborn and still disbelieving. Another rule of a bond is the physical barrier. In short, we cannot be that far from each other. I couldn't have stayed away from you even if I tried."

"That's even more ridiculous," hissed Harry.

"Fine, if you don't believe me, try to go to the end of this street and keep walking on. I'll stay here."

"You're joking, right?" Asked Harry.

"You're starting to wear down my patience," said Draco dryly.

For the first time, Harry felt a sense of dread. Was this really happening? It couldn't be.

"Harry, go to the end of the street and test the boundaries of the bond while I stay here," Draco commanded. "You shouldn't be able to refuse that due to your trusting nature."

"I don't have a trusting nature," Harry mumbled as he inexplicably started to climb down the tree.

He grumbled about stupid wiccans and told himself that he was only doing this to get Draco to leave and that it was only because he wanted to do it that he was doing it and not because of some hypnosis hold on him. He was aware that Draco was leaning out the window and watching him. Oddly, it made him feel warm and safe despite the cold weather. He pushed the thought away and focused on turning in to the next street to prove Draco wrong and to also get rid of the small seed of doubt that had started to grow inside him.

He reached the end of the street. He turned around so that he could look at Draco as he proved him wrong. He took a step back, then another. He was starting to smile; he was already halfway to the other street. Suddenly, his foot stopped in mid air.

'I don't want to go there', popped in his head out of nowhere. Before he knew it, he was walking forward towards Draco. He made himself stop, frowning. What was he doing? He turned around and started walking towards the street to his right. He would go there and prove Draco wrong. What was the matter with him?

He'd taken no more than three steps when suddenly the same thought popped into his head: 'I don't want to go there'. This time he was prepared for it and tried to fight back. 'I do want to go there,' he thought, hard. He willed his feet to move. A painful charge went through him and before he could process what was happening, he was once again walking towards Draco instead of further away.

He groaned. This wasn't happening. He wouldn't accept it. All this time he was escaping from the Dursley's to be free and independent and now because of it his will and body seemed to be chained to Draco. He fought it for as long as he could; tried going down the next street, tried taking a leap and landing on the other side, tried fighting against the mental barrier as hard as possible. But it was just not happening. His body wasn't obeying him. Draco had been right, he was bound.

He watched as Draco climbed down the tree and started moving south towards him. As the distance between them closed, the feeling of being trapped at the edge of a barrier started to lessen. Harry started moving down the street, south, further away from Draco. He found that he could. But as soon as Draco stopped walking, Harry was unable to move further south again. So the barrier moves with him at the centre, he thought.

He watched in horror as Draco started moving towards north and away from him. He was already on the edge of the barrier, what would happen if Draco started moving further away from him?

He felt a mental pull, a sort of need, moving him in Draco's direction, to north. He balled his fists in frustration and watched helplessly as his feet moved him north to maintain the allowed distance between him and Draco. So Draco could pull him anywhere he wanted but Harry was stuck? He wondered if the bond would end if he killed Draco. He felt angry enough to go through with it. Who did this stranger think he was, to force himself into his life and chain him this way?

He met Draco at the bottom of the tree in the Dursley's garden, eyes burning. His anger grew as he saw the victorious smile on Draco's face.

"I will kill you," he snarled.

"Hey, easy," Draco said, putting his hands up. "End my life and you will be ending yours. We are soul-bound, tied together for eternity."

"Eternity?" Harry repeated, enraged. "No. You reverse whatever this is right now. I don't know you! You're a random stranger I met in the woods that doesn't feel the cold and does fake rituals! Now let me live my life in peace!"

"Fake ritual?" Said Draco disappointedly, sighing. "Looks like you're more stubborn than I anticipated. I'm tired of showing you the ropes slowly and going at your pace; at this rate it'll take us ten years to get you used to the idea. We'll figure out what to do in the morning. A ritual like that would have worn anyone out. Let's go."

Harry elbowed Draco away and started climbing the tree up to his room. He was fuming. What had he done to deserve this? He tried to shut his window and close Draco out but his body wouldn't work against Draco's wishes; Draco had ordered him to let him sleep in his bed. He sighed and moved to the floor as Draco climbed in through the window. He tried to completely ignore his existence as he lay back on the ground and crossed his arms under his head.

"Don't be that way," said Draco with a sigh. "Come, there's plenty of space for the both of us on the bed."

Harry scoffed at the idea. Draco frowned.

"I thought you'd be grateful," Draco muttered. "I could have dragged you with me anywhere, but instead I let you come here to your home so you could learn about being bounded slowly and gently. Instead, you're treating me like this."

"Are you serious?" Harry said with a glare. "You imprison me, break into my room, order me around, and then call me ungrateful for not wanting any part of it?"

Before Draco could open his mouth, Harry turned away to rest on his side, his back to Draco.

"Save it. Enjoy the bed, I don't want to be near you or have anything to do with you."

He heard Draco sigh and lift the blanket. It was thrown unceremoniously over Harry before Draco kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed. Harry gritted his teeth, pretended as if the blanket hadn't landed on him, and tried his best to go to sleep on the hard wooden floor, all the while cursing his luck and those silvery eyes that still stirred unwanted feelings deep inside him.


	3. Abducted

When Harry woke up the next day, the first feeling that he was aware of was the pain in his back and shoulders from having slept on the ground. The second thing that he was aware of was the warmth on his chest. He opened his eyes curiously, blinking at his surroundings slowly, and turned mortified. In his sleep, he had rolled closer to the bed and Draco had rolled to the edge of the bed so that his hand was dangling down and resting on his chest. Harry moved away instantly and groaned at the pains in his body.

"You can't fight it, we're soul-bound," murmured Draco sleepily. "We gravitate towards each other; our souls want to join."

"That is the creepiest thing I have ever heard," said Harry nervously. He was very aware of the fact that his aunt and uncle would be awake and expecting him to do his chores soon. "Look, I've entertained your craziness long enough. You need to leave now; I need to go make breakfast and clean up, or I'll be grounded with no food for days again."

"Again?" Said Draco, raising his eyebrows, eyes still sleepy. "All your talk about not wanting to be treated in a bad way and you allow these people to have that control over you? I'm hurt. Do you have a personal vendetta against me?"

"Personal vendetta?" Harry repeated disbelievingly. "I don't even know you! Now please leave and let me get back to my life."

"To refresh your memory, wherever I go, you go," said Draco, sighing. "Bond, remember? And now that I know your life here is miserable, it makes my job of taking you away with me all the easier."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," said Harry meekly.

"Well you're certainly not staying here with these people who order you around and inspire such fear in you. As my bonded, you are above that. Only I can do such things," said Draco with a sinister smile. "Now pack your things and let's go."

"Where?" Said Harry, defeated. He was sure that he couldn't count on his aunt and uncle caring enough to search for him.

"To my family manor," Draco informed him, sitting up in bed and putting on his shoes.

"And will I be your servant there?" Harry asked sarcastically, fearing that it might actually be true.

"Of course not," said Draco exasperatedly. "As my bonded, you will be expected to help me with my potions and rituals, but that's all."

"That's all?" Harry asked with more sarcasm. "I never signed up for this. I was happy with my life. What gives you the right to come along and tell me how to live?"

"We were called to each other," said Draco impatiently. "You were destined to be my bonded."

"My bonded this, my bonded that," Harry mumbled to himself as he pulled a backpack and started packing some of his clothes that were in a better condition.

"My bonded will never wear such clothes," Draco announced at once. "Change in plans. Do not pack. We will get you new clothes."

"Absolutely not," said Harry, continuing to pack.

"You're disobeying a direct order because accepting charity is not in your nature," said Draco with a pleased smile. "As disappointed as I am that you will not let me see you in better clothes, I am happy to be learning things about you and the boundaries of our bond."

Harry groaned. He really didn't know what to make of this creature standing beside him. He sounded like all of this was absolutely normal; like they were in a happy friendship rather than Harry being his slave.

"Boy!" Harry heard his uncle calling. He looked nervously at Draco.

"That's our cue to leave," he whispered frantically. Amongst the nerves, there was also a trickle of excitement. Although he was chained to Draco, he was finally able to free himself from the Dursleys. He'd been chained to them his whole life. Although, now he was chained to Draco and had to find a way to free himself from a lunatic. Hypnosis or whatever it was, Harry was not content for it to become his life.

He contemplated stalling long enough for the Dursleys to find him. Maybe they would be able to break the bond between Draco and him. But judging by their fear of anything abnormal, it was fair to believe that they would have rather washed their hands of him than help solve his problem.

He went down the tree first, followed by Draco. As they both reached the ground, Draco took his hand. He flinched away, but Draco's grasp was firm.

"Close your eyes," Draco commanded.

Before Harry could object, his body had followed Draco's command. He felt a strange sensation go through his body, as if a silk cloak was being draped over him, and then Draco whisked him away. They were moving faster than his brain could comprehend. He was running along Draco, but the speed that they were running at felt impossible. His eyes were still closed; a strange wind seemed to guide Draco and him down their path.

As the minutes slipped away, Harry felt his anxiety slip away with them. The wind pressing against him, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the rhythmic sound of their feet, it all worked to calm him. He felt like he belonged to this strange world filled with familiar scents. By the time he'd decided that their trip would never end, they started to slow down. He felt a little pang of disappointment. It was impossible not to. He'd always heard the call of nature, and in these past minutes, he'd felt at one with it.

"Open your eyes," Draco's voice sounded from his right.

Harry slowly opened his eyes and with his vision returned his anxiety and mistrust. "What was that? Did you drug me? Where are we?"

"All in good time," was all that Draco said.

Harry turned to look at the object of Draco's attention. To his side stood the largest building he had ever seen. It was twice the size of his boarding school.

"No need to look so shocked," Draco commented with a smirk. It was only then that Harry realized his mouth had fallen open. He clicked his jaw shut and stood there staring at the sturdy tall walls and large windows facing him.

"Welcome home," said Draco in a content voice.

Harry turned to glare at him. "You mean prison."

Draco sighed and pressed him forward by putting his hand on Harry's lower back. "I only hope that in time you'll change your mind about that. But for the time being, I'll keep you here by force if I must. I have to be here and as my bonded you have to be where I am."

"There you again with the 'as my bonded'," growled Harry. "I'm getting sick and tired of that. Why couldn't you just leave me alone?"

"Harry, please," Draco said, as if reprimanding a child. "You will grow to like your new life in time, just give it a chance. Let me keep you close, safe, and provide a better living environment for you, because you are my bonded."

"Whatever," Harry grumbled.

"Now I'll show you around and introduce you to everyone."

"Everyone who?" Asked Harry horrified. "Do you keep all your 'bonded' here?"

Draco frowned in confusion. "We only have one bonded for life, Harry."

Harry crossed his arms. "I'm not going in there. My life has already gotten weird enough for one day."

"You will do as I ask," commanded Draco softly.

Harry frowned at him. "I think you will find that following someone's commands blindly is not in my nature either."

"Harry," said Draco, sighing. "You know that if I go in there you will have to follow me because of the distance constraints of the bond. But that will not be a good image to present to my family who will be meeting you for the first time."

"Do I look like I care about that?" Asked Harry, throwing his hands up. "You've messed up my entire life, don't think that I won't go out of my way to upset yours."

"Fine," said Draco, frowning. "Suit yourself."

Draco stepped inside the large doors and left Harry outside. After a few minutes, Harry felt the tug of the bond. He tried to lock his feet and force himself to stand still, but like last night, it was out of his control. He soon found his feet moving towards the direction that Draco must have gone and stepped inside the manor in spite of himself. He imagined all the different ways he would get back at Draco if he only could. He might as well been a chained dog. As his feet carried him onwards, he met servants who bowed or curtsied when they saw him and acted as if Harry's presence there was completely normal.

Harry walked by riches that would have given the Dursleys heart attacks if they'd just been in the vicinity of them, but he had bigger problems to worry about. At least at the Dursleys he'd still been able to go as far away as he wanted during nights. Here, he had to go where Draco went, which was confining and suffocating. He did not even know this man.

"Hello," a woman said to him as he walked into a hallway. "You must be Draco's bonded. I am his Mother, Narcissa. It is very nice to meet you."

"Please, ma'am, let me go," Harry begged. At the soft look that appeared in her eyes, Harry dropped to his knees, the picture of pity. "I don't understand why your son has abducted me and brought me here. Please let me go. I have a family, friends. I need to get back to my life."

Harry almost flinched at calling the Dursleys his family, but as his hopeful eyes met those sad ones, he knew that even that hadn't worked.

"I'm sorry, Harry," said Draco's Mother apologetically. "As Draco's bonded, this is your place now. A time will come when you will understand and accept that."

Harry sat down on his knees and looked at his hands. He felt more helpless than ever. Even the adults around here were insane.

"I didn't choose to be bound to him," he whispered.

Draco's Mother extended her hand and helped him to his feet. "Soon you will realize how lucky you were to be chosen as a bonded."

She smiled at Harry as he looked at her blankly. He felt the tug pulling him ever forward and stepped away, head bowed, powerless. As he entered the largest room he'd yet come upon, his head started to come up a little and he spotted Draco standing in the center of the huge room, as big as a public library.

"This is my storeroom," Draco said proudly as he saw Harry entering. Shelves against shelves were stacked with potions and dried herbs. "There is a cure for everything here."

In spite of himself, Harry stood there amazed. He could smell all the different ingredients that had gone into this. He smelled flowers and different types of wood. He smelled leaves and different oils. At once his heart started beating with excitement at the possibility of being able to work near these scents every day. For a moment he forgot where he was or how confined he felt. He felt free in the nature surrounding him, as if all his dreams had come true.

And then his eyes fell on Draco again and his frown returned.

"You like it here," said Draco with a pleased smile. "As-"

"As your bonded?" Harry completed the sentence.

"As any bonded would," said Draco.

Harry moved to the center of the room and sat down on the bench there. The tabletop in front of him was covered with various open books. He sighed and looked at his nails.

"I met your Mother," he started. He didn't see Draco's nod, but went on. "She seems to think that I will like it here."

"And you will," said Draco earnestly as he moved to sit on a bench across from him.

Before Harry could reply, his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He stood and moved away to one of the windows to answer it.

"Hey, you're on speaker with Hermione and me," Ron's familiar voice said.

"Hey, Harry," said Hermione's voice.

"Thank God you called," said Harry eagerly. "Remember that strange man that we met in the woods last night? Draco?"

"Yes, that was weird, huh?" Ron replied.

"Yes," Agreed Harry. "What's more, the binding spell he put on me, it's some sort of hypnosis or something, and now I do what he says and have to go where he goes."

"Whoa, slow down," said Ron. "What are you talking about?"

"He followed me home last night," said Harry. "And started ordering me around and I couldn't stop myself from doing whatever he said. And today he brought me to his house and I can't run away because there is a distance barrier that keeps me from getting too far away from him."

"Is this one of your practical jokes?" Ron asked, confused.

"What Ron means to say, Harry," Hermione added. "Is that we know about your active imagination and it was a strange night for all of us. But you know as well as I do that being under hypnosis doesn't work that way. To put you under hypnosis Draco would have had to put you in a relaxed state and then made physical contact to trigger the hypnosis. We were all very tense last night and as far as I remember he never moved to touch you."

"You're right," said Harry, shocked. "Why didn't I remember that about hypnosis?"

"And people who are under hypnosis don't recognize that they are because every order that they follow seems natural to them," Hermione continued.

"You're right," Harry repeated, feeling cold and shaky. "It can't be hypnosis."

"So it's a joke, right?" Ron went on. "Because it's not hypnosis and you're not trying to say that magic is real, right?"

"Look, I'm just telling you what happened," said Harry nervously. "If it's not hypnosis, then I'm not sure what it is, but I'm in a strange house and I can't leave. I need your help to get out of here. You have to believe me."

"Harry, this isn't funny," Hermione said. "I remember you using such lines to get us to come and rescue you from a boring day at your uncle's house, but now don't you think we're a little too old to play pretend?"

"I wouldn't mind dropping by, except that this weekend I promised to stay home and help Ginny with homework," Ron said apologetically. "I'll see you in class on Monday, alright?"

"I'm not making this up," said Harry desperately.

"Okay, then tell me the location of this strange house you're in," challenged Hermione.

"I don't know the address, I had my eyes closed while we ran here," said Harry weakly. He could see why they would think he was making this up. He was living it and yet it was hard for even him to believe it.

"We'll see you later, Harry," said Hermione, sighing.

"Sorry," said Ron, before he hung up.

Harry stared at the phone in his hand. Today was Saturday. On Monday, Ron would see that he wasn't in class, they would see that he wasn't at Dursleys and hadn't been for a few days, and they would finally believe him and start looking for him. He only had to wait until Monday.

But what difference did it make, really? What could they do against a binding spell? How would they even find this place? Harry pushed away those thoughts reluctantly. He had to believe that there was a way out of this.


	4. Loopholes in the Bond

Harry was aware of a new presence in the room as he turned around.

"Hello," the man standing by Draco said. "You must be Draco's bonded. I am his Father, Lucius."

Harry's mind was still in a daze from his phone call with Ron and Hermione. He nodded and crouched where he was.

Lucius looked at Harry in concern. "Give us a minute, Draco."

After a short argument, Draco left the room reluctantly. It was hard for Harry to take it in. As hard as he was trying to push away his doubts of ever being rescued, all the impossibilities of his plans kept popping up in his head. He was aware of Lucius walking closer and sitting down on the floor beside him. Harry looked sideways at him. He didn't look like the sort of person who would give in to his begging either.

"Is there any chance of me getting out of this?" He asked lifelessly.

"Out of the bond? No, I'm afraid not," said Lucius in a sympathetic tone. "Believe it or not, I was in your shoes once."

Harry peered sideways at Lucius in puzzlement.

"Yes, I am a bonded as well. I was bound to Narcissa when I was almost 16, the same age that you must be now. That is how it goes with all the bonded." Lucius noticed curiosity taking the place of defeat in Harry's eyes and continued. "The wicca in this family, they are called to those who will be compatible soul-bounds. It is an ancient spell put on their line. Draco no more chose you than you him, as Narcissa and I were chosen for each other. The universe pulls a wiccan and bonded together and the pull gets stronger the older that you get. There is only one bonded for each wiccan and visa versa. If something happens to one of them before they are bound, they will never be able to find the person that they are compatible with and will spend the rest of their lives empty and alone, never really finding the place they belong to or the person that they belong with."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest, not sure what to make of this. Him and Draco compatible? As if.

"I didn't know any of this either when Narcissa performed the binding ritual and I suddenly found myself under all these restraints, so I know how you're feeling. I had to leave my family behind with no explanations and go wherever Narcissa wanted and do almost anything she commanded. After my parents passed away, we came to reclaim the manor and started living here. It took me years to learn to accept the bond and see it's advantages."

"Advantages?" Scoffed Harry.

"I know," said Lucius bitterly. "It's very hard at first. You feel as if your entire being is stripped away, that all control and freedom is taken from you. But that's not it exactly."

Harry shifted his weight. As much as he was trying to shut Lucius out, the honesty in his voice crept in.

"I don't expect you to believe me, of course," said Lucius softly. "I wouldn't have believed me at that time either. I fought Narcissa every step of the way, it is only natural. It's the only way that you will find the boundaries of your bond. You will learn what you can and cannot do. But once you accept it, new things come with the bond that make it all worthwhile. One day you will understand what I'm talking about and we will discuss it then."

"What if I never stop fighting it?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Never seems like such a possible infinity to the young," Lucius said with a sigh. "But one tires of never after a while. The fight will die out eventually, as things do with time."

"I would rather die than live in confinement like this," Harry murmured.

"Harry, from one bonded to another," said Lucius, placing an arm on Harry's. "I'm begging you, don't. Taking your life is not a better alternative to living it with conditions. This is the hand that life has dealt you, and in time you will understand it. Give it some time."

"How did you know my name?" Asked Harry, tilting his head. "I don't remember telling it to you."

"Come with me," Lucius said.

They got up. Harry followed Lucius out, mostly because there was nothing else to do, but also because for whatever reason, he felt that he could trust this man. His demeanour was undeceiving and his gestures and tone were earnest and honest. What's more, he'd been through the same ordeal. They walked to the opposite room which was an actual library, even larger than the storeroom had been. Harry followed Lucius to the end of the room, aware that Draco was following but staying as far back as the bond allowed him to be.

Lucius stopped before the wall and brought Harry's attention to what was hung on it. It seemed to be made out of different pieces of dried leather stitched together, covered by gold lettering.

"These are Draco's, and Narcissa's, ancestors," Lucius explained, gesturing to what looked like a family tree. "We are not the ones who write the names. They appear after a child is born. For example, when Draco was born, his name appeared under Narcissa's and mine."

Harry looked at where Lucius was pointing. He could see gold lettering spelling out Narcissa's name and next to it was Lucius's. In the middle and further down, there was Draco's name, connected to them with a fine line.

"And at the same time that the child is born," Lucius continued. "The name of their bonded is also spelled out."

Harry bit his lower lip as Lucius moved his finger to show that the name 'Harry' was written next to Draco's.

"No last name?" He asked.

"No," said Lucius shaking his head. "The wicca are not able to know and track their bonded by full name. They are only able to correctly identify them by name if not by feeling the pull of the bond when it is time for them to meet. For instance, if a wiccan and their bonded are pulled to a crowd at the time of bonding, the wiccan is able to correctly identify who their bonded is by learning their name. This is not usually necessary as they can tell by feeling the pull between them."

Harry looked at his name etched into the old leather. He wished that he could scratch it off, to make another name appear there. Was he really to believe that he had always been destined to be bound to Draco?

"Of course, it seems easier for the wiccan because from when they are born they are taught about being bound one day, so they have a long time to get used to the idea since they even have the name of the one that will be bound to them. In contrast, the bonded are never aware of what is in store for them and always take it badly at first. In the case of bonds, it's never love at first sight; it's destiny and two souls being pulled together. Stubborn people take longer to submit to the pull but the souls recognize each other instantly."

Harry straightened and shifted his weight on his feet. He heard Draco clear his throat.

Lucius smiled gently. "We're all very stubborn in this family, and as I can see, so are you, Harry. So go ahead and take your time causing all kinds of nuisance, knowing that it is normal and that we accept and welcome it. These fights need to be hashed out before the bond can be accepted."

Harry looked back at Draco and turned again to Lucius. "Are you encouraging me to cause trouble?"

Lucius laughed. "I am more than encouraging it. Please go ahead and give him all that he can take. These wicca, they deserve it. Its the least we can do to give them a run for their money."

Harry nodded. He couldn't agree more. If Draco would always have this hold on him, then he was going to make him regret ever bonding to him.

"Now, I have to leave you and get back to Narcissa. As we age, the bond strengthens and staying this far away from her is painful."

"How are you able to be this far from her?" Harry asked, glaring at Draco.

"She gave me permission. It is infeasible for two people to always be together, there are times that we need to separate, so the bond allows it if permission is given by the wiccan. However, it is an uncomfortable experience for both sides."

"Why didn't Draco just give me permission to stay with my family, then?" Harry asked spitefully. "He knows I didn't want to come here."

"Oh, no, Harry," said Lucius sadly. "These sorts of exceptions only come by when the bond settles. Your bond won't settle until you stop fighting it. He cannot give you such permissions now. And for such a long distance… I don't think after exercising being away from Narcissa for so many years even I could bear to be that far away from her every day. You will know what I mean soon enough."

As Lucius left him and Draco in the library, Harry turned back to look at the family tree. He was aware of what Lucius meant by the discomfort of being too far from Draco. As it was, Draco was standing close to the entrance of the library while Harry stood at the wall at the far end. It was almost as long as his bedroom window had been from the end of their street so that Harry was standing at the very edge of the bond. He could feel the constant tugging and need to move away from the edge and go closer to Draco. It was making him feel nervous and he had to constantly tell himself to stay where he was and that everything was fine as it was.

"Lunch?" Draco called, coming closer towards Harry.

Harry took a deep breath as he felt the weight of being too far away melt away. He was aware of Draco seeing that in his body language and smiling. He frowned at Draco's smile. "It's your fault we're in this mess."

"At least you now acknowledge that we're in this mess together," said Draco.

"At least you got the better end of the deal," said Harry. "You get to order me around and drag me wherever you want."

"And what pleasure does that give me? You're the most stubborn person I have ever met. I will have no more peace or quiet. On top of that, I have to feel guilty for taking you away from your life."

"Well, boo hoo," said Harry. "It must be dreadful to feel guilty. You should try being dragged around and taking orders like a chained slave."

"Look, we're not getting anywhere this way. At least you hated the family you left behind. My family can be your family. You already seem to be getting along with Father. Now let's go for lunch because I am starving."

"Fine," snapped Harry, equally starved.

Draco sighed and lead the way out of the library and to the dining area. As he sat down next to Narcissa, Lucius took Harry's hand to hold him back. Harry looked at him questioningly.

"It is traditional for the bonded to take the meal for the wiccan and later himself."

"Then what are the servants for?" Asked Harry. "I thought he said that I wasn't coming here to be his maid."

"It's not being a maid," said Lucius patiently. "Since we do not go through the trouble of lovingly cooking them a meal, the least we can do is take the food to them."

"Why would it be my job to 'lovingly' cook anyone a meal?" Asked Harry, gaping.

"These feelings come with a settled bond," explained Lucius. "You will understand them later. Right now, simply do it because I am asking you to."

Harry looked at Lucius, disbelieving. On top of everything he had to pamper Draco?

"He can take his own damn meal, or starve," he said stubbornly.

Lucius leaned in to whisper in his ear. "One of the first things I ever did was take revenge on Narcissa by spitting in her food before delivering it. It gave me immense pleasure."

"Are you honestly asking me to spit in your Son's food?" Harry whispered back, surprised.

Lucius winked at him as he took a soup to Narcissa. Harry turned to look at the tray that he was supposed to carry the food to Draco from. The tray was placed behind the table so that neither Draco nor Narcissa who were sat facing the windows could see it.

"It's set this way to encourage the wiccan to trust their bonded," Lucius whispered as he came to take his own soup.

Harry stood there, contemplating his options for a while. He could see Draco sitting there, pretending not to be anxious, but he was clutching the edges of his chair where his parents couldn't see. Harry's mind was made up. He moved to get the soup. He took his time spitting in it and quietly stirring it. Then, with one hand he took Draco's soup bowl and with the other he took his own and walked to the table.

"Here," he said loudly, inappropriately, and slammed Draco's bowl carelessly in front of him. Then he started to put his own bowl down gently.

"Thank you," said Draco nervously.

Harry glanced sideways and saw the doubt and fear in Draco's eyes. He watched in silence as Draco took his spoon and started searching through his soup.

"Don't play with your food, Draco," chided Narcissa. "Your bonded was kind enough to bring you your meal. You should show gratitude by eating it before it gets cold."

Draco made a scared noise and kept on searching. As Narcissa started to reprimand him again, Lucius reached out and stopped her. Harry was amazed to see that, he never thought that the wiccan would listen to the bonded.

Draco was still staring at the soup suspiciously. As he saw both his parents glaring at him however, he was forced to start eating. He made a face, but didn't say anything as Narcissa threw him a dangerous look.

Harry smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Tormenting Draco was fun. As long as he was stuck here, he would take Lucius's advice and exploit every single loophole in this damned bond.


	5. A Day in the Life of a Prisoner

Harry woke up for the second day in a row with body pains. Draco had insisted that he sleep on the bed next to him but Harry had adamantly refused. Because of the huge rooms that the manor had, the distance constraint wouldn't allow them to sleep in two different rooms and so Harry had been dragged to Draco's bedroom. To be fair, he could have slept on the couch, but Harry was determined to be as miserable as possible here now that he knew his misery brought Draco such guilt.

Thus, he had slept on the ground of Draco's bedroom, as far away as he could. When Draco had commanded him to sleep close by, his body had instantly refused to follow that command. He'd slept that far for fear of waking up with a body part of Draco's resting on him again. As he woke up, he felt Draco's hand on his chest again and sighed. The bond had made him roll towards Draco in his sleep again.

"Must you molest me while I sleep?" He asked gruffly.

When there was no reply, Harry looked up at Draco and found him fast asleep with a content smile on his face. He was on the edge of the bed again although Harry had made sure to sleep on the ground opposite the side where Draco had slept. The words 'soul-bound' and 'gravitate' popped up in his head in reminiscence of the explanation Draco had provided the previous morning.

He tried stretching the pains out. Sitting up, he patted down his hair. He was aware of needing a shower after two days, but he was not going to take one; it would be the same as making himself at home here. He was unwavering in his decision to cause Draco as much grief as possible. He still did need to use the bathroom, however. Luckily, Draco's bathroom was close to his bed and Harry would not be leaving the bond's boundaries to enter it. He imagined the mortification of having to wake Draco to request going to the bathroom together.

He entered the bathroom and gaped after seeing the huge mirrors covering the walls. The shower looked very inviting, but he stayed strong.

By the time he exited the bathroom, Draco was already awake and sitting on his bed. He was only wearing boxers and the sheets pooled around his body. Despite his dislike for Draco, he couldn't help but admire his smooth, pale skin. He looked away uncomfortably.

"Morning," said Draco softly.

"Stop being nice," barked Harry, ruffled from bad sleep and all the recent changes that were out of his control. "I'm going out of my way to be rude. The least you could do is be rude back."

"I understand that you need time to adjust," said Draco apologetically. It made Harry hate him more. "But I've been preparing for my bonded my entire life. I have no reason to be rude or spiteful towards you. We will be spending the rest of our lives together and that's no way to act. Once you get used to the bond, you'll come to see that too."

"I want to call my friends," said Harry coldly. He stepped as far away as he could from Draco and took out his phone. They picked up, sounding sleepy.

"Is anything the matter?" Asked Hermione after a short pause.

"Why are you calling so early?" Moaned Ron.

"Please, you guys are my only chance of rescue. You have to believe my story. Just track my phone's GPS, you'll find where I am. You have to come get me," said Harry hurriedly.

"Look, this is getting ridiculous," started Hermione.

"Wait, Hermione, just track my GPS, alright?" Asked Harry tiredly. "Just track it and then call me."

He hung up and turned back to Draco who was now dressed.

"Breakfast?" Draco asked.

Harry shook his head.

"Coffee?" Draco tried again.

Harry nodded begrudgingly.

They headed towards the dining area again. Lucius and Narcissa were already there, enjoying a lavish breakfast. Harry's fingers itched for the marmalade and toast but he stopped himself in time and consoled himself with two cups of coffee. Draco glanced at him sideways and sighed in sadness throughout breakfast. Even Lucius and Narcissa looked concerned. Harry felt the sadistic pleasure of hurting them. Yesterday he'd only had the soup and he was continuing with his plan to consume as little as possible and look pained the entire time he was here.

"Sleep well?" Narcissa asked them.

"I did, Mother," said Draco sadly. "But Harry slept on the floor again."

Narcissa looked at Harry with more concern while Lucius looked at Harry knowingly. He dipped his head, acknowledging Harry's right to be difficult. Harry lowered his head towards Lucius. He couldn't help but feel a comradeship there.

"Is there any way we can make you more comfortable, dear?" Asked Narcissa kindly.

Harry shook his head, pursing his lips. More kindness. He hated every second of it. He was feeling trapped with enslavers that were treating him kindly. What was he supposed to do with that? After breakfast, Draco took him to the garden to show him the plants. Just as Harry's breath was taken away with the various smells and colours that he was faced with, his phone rang. He distanced himself from Draco to answer it.

"Okay, we believe that you're not home," said Hermione by way of greeting.

"Where am I?" Asked Harry nervously.

"Out of town," said Ron in confusion.

"But I still don't buy all this magic and bonding stuff," continued Hermione. "I think you're just visiting Draco's house and want us all there to play pretend together."

Harry sighed. "Hermione…"

"But we'll come and check just in case," Ron broke in. "Right Hermione?"

"Right," agreed Hermione slowly. "But we can't today, as we said, this weekend we've made promises and have chores to do. Right Ron?"

"Right," said Ron, sighing. "I'll see you tomorrow. You're still coming to school, right?"

"I doubt it," said Harry dejectedly.

"We'll come over after school," said Hermione, exasperated. "But it's not good to be ditching school like this, Harry."

"Just come," said Harry, and hung up.

He turned to Draco. "My friends will be coming here tomorrow."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Draco cautiously. "Usually it's best for a bonded to leave the life they used to have behind."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and gave Draco a hard look.

"But if it makes you happier, I suppose it's alright," said Draco helplessly.

They spent the morning in the garden. It helped Harry feel calmer and created some distance between him and the situation he was in. While walking through the trees, Harry's eyes fell upon an ancient looking tree.

"That looks like the tree outside my window," said Harry, startled, before he could stop himself.

"Only the wiccan and bonded can see those," said Draco, looking at the tree fondly. "It's nature pulling us together. When I saw that tree outside your window, I knew for sure that you were my bonded. As a wiccan, I have a strong bond with nature. This is my tree, it was born the same time as I. The fact that a replica of it grew outside your window is because you needed help and I wasn't able to provide it so nature came to your aid instead."

"I don't understand," said Harry, trying his best to keep up. If there was one thing he was interested in, it was how that tree had appeared outside his window. It had housed Hedwig, his only companion in the Dursley's house, and it had provided him with the means of sneaking out and in nightly.

"My best guess is that you were lonely, or wanted to get out of that house somehow. Because we weren't bound yet, I couldn't help you and your desperation grew. The bond acted in my place and called nature for help instead. The tree grew outside your window to meet your needs. However, now that you don't live there anymore, the replica should have disappeared."

Harry placed a hand on the white oak. It felt and looked the same as the tree outside his window. He began to climb it out of habit, and for the first time felt something familiar in this alien place. The oak was firm and cool under his touch. Its branches were where he was used to and so the climbing process was easy. By the time he reached midway and sat on a branch, a smile had found its way onto his face. He looked around him at the flowers that still bloomed in winter, at the evergreen trees surrounding them, at the small animals scattered around.

His sense of calm was disrupted as his eyes fell on Draco and saw the pleased look in his eyes. He climbed down, frowning. "This doesn't mean I'm okay with being a prisoner. I can't even go to school."

"You'll be starting new classes here soon. They will teach you everything about this new life and anything else you require to know. I would go to your school with you if I could, but it's against tradition," replied Draco.

"Oh no, not if it's against tradition," said Harry, mock horrified.

"Look, I know you think I've ruined your life and that I'm the villain here," said Draco wearily. "But this is out of my control. It's our destiny to be bound and you need to accept that sooner or later."

"It's out of your control?" Harry asked, eyes wide. "No, I don't think you understand how much in control you are right now. I'm the one who has no control. If you wanted to, we could have stayed at the Dursleys' and just explained your presence somehow. You could have paid them for rent, they would have welcomed you with open arms. We could have attended my classes and lived my life, but oh no, your life is so much more important and I have to adjust to your life instead of you to mine. Why? Because you're in control and I have none!"

"Is that what you want?" Asked Draco curiously, seemingly unaffected by his outburst. "You love St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys that much? You love your uncle's house that you're practically a maid in that much?"

"Well, no," said Harry, some of his anger deflated. "But I love going to that school with Ron because we can make fun of everyone and that's fun. And I didn't love being at the Dursleys', but I prefer it to living in this prison."

"I'm not keeping you from seeing Ron. We can go and see your friends or they can come and see you if it matters this much to you. Meanwhile, you don't have to go to a horrid school. And you were in a prison at your uncle's house too whether you want to admit it or not. Being in the manor, you don't have to wake up early or cook anyone meals or clean up after them. You don't get grounded or scolded," said Draco reasonably.

"You don't understand at all," fumed Harry. "It's about choice. I chose to listen and go to that school and live in that house. If I wanted to, I could have run away at any point."

"And why didn't you?" Asked Draco in the same curious voice.

"Because my friends made it worthwhile," said Harry sadly. "Ron was there during school and Hermione afterwards. Who will keep Ron company now? You've disrupted our lives, not just mine, and even if I have to live with it I will never forgive you for it."

"You will, in time," said Draco, as Harry started walking away.

The rest of the day was spent with Draco humouring Harry, following him instead of making Harry follow him. They didn't talk again, Harry spent the day thinking about his situation and digesting everything he'd learned so far. Of one thing he was sure, his anger for Draco would never dissipate. The more accommodating Draco became, the more he hated him. He would be sleeping on the floor again.


	6. Breaking Point

Harry's hatred for the first day of the week was not diminished as he spent Monday morning gathering ingredients for Draco's potions. It was for a healing potion, Draco had informed him, and he was presently holding a list of ingredients in one hand and a clipper in the other, walking in the gardens, trying to figure out the name of the plants. As much as he enjoyed being in a magical garden whose plants bloomed at all times of the year, it was impossibly hard to identify the ones Draco needed.

He'd spent the morning pulling out roots, snapping twigs, yanking leaves, and clipping flowers. Besides the sheer amount of work, it was extremely cold, which made Harry curse Draco every step of the way and imagine stepping on his head as his feet crunched in the snow. Currently, he was looking in a book with the pictures and descriptions of flowers and rubbing his hands together from the cold. Although the wicca seemed to never get cold, the case seemed to be untrue for their bonded. Harry was still shivering in the snow as much as before while Draco stood under one of the trees, talking on the phone and looking undisturbed by the weather in his usual jeans and top.

Harry was looking for a flower that was white and small, grouped in bunches. According to the book, it looked similar to the white poison hemlock, which was deadly. Harry could see two different parts of the garden housing similar flowers. Presumably, one was the group of poison flowers and one was the harmless group.

As he crossed between the two parts and looked at them again and again, they grew to look more and more similar. He couldn't identify which was which. He stood there in dilemma, stamping his feet to keep warm. How bad would it be really if he took the poisonous flower? He looked up at where Draco was standing, still on the phone and not monitoring Harry's progress. What Harry would normally do in a situation like this was to ask for help. But even putting the words 'Draco' and 'help' together made him cringe.

Harry knew that it was wrong to punish the ones who would drink these healing potions because of his desire to do the opposite of everything that Draco said. But here he was on a cold Monday morning, following a command to gather ingredients out of his depth. He was being treated like a slave, so why should he act with any consideration? He nodded to himself and went to the group of white flowers that were slightly further off. He clipped the flower and wrapped it in a strip of cloth and put it with the others.

To indicate that he was done with the task, he went and stood at the far edge of the bond's limits. Draco looked up from under the tree and ended his conversation on the phone, heading towards him.

"All done?" He asked, looking at Harry cautiously. Harry hadn't taken being ordered around on a cold early morning well.

Harry nodded, looking away. He was trying to ignore Draco's presence as much as his situation allowed. They went to Draco's storeroom and Harry sat at the table while Draco set up his equipments. As lunch time rolled by, Draco was almost ready to take out the ingredients. Harry felt his heart beating fast. As hard as he was trying to stay indifferent, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen when Draco touched the maybe poisonous flowers with his bare hands.

After lunch, they went to the garden again because Draco had forgotten some sensitive ingredients that thankfully he himself wanted to gather. While Draco was doing this, Harry found a hidden, cozy spot in the middle of the trees. The bushes and trees were interwoven so much so that it was hard to tell the small clearing was there and Harry felt a great happiness at this discovery. As it was still within the bond's bounds, he crawled into the opening and sat in the middle of the bushes, surrounded by tall green trees. He felt himself calm down and smile. Here, there was no trace of winter, no trace of Draco, no trace of a bond. He lay back on a tree and looked up at the sky. He wished he could stay here, hidden and in denial.

By the time he woke up, the sun had changed position. He woke up groggy and confused, and his first thought was 'why am I alone?' He crawled out of his hiding place only to stumble on Draco, who had been sitting just outside, watching two birds on a branch.

"Sorry," said Harry, not fully himself yet.

"It's quite alright," said Draco with concern, helping Harry get up.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Asked Harry, coming around now.

"You looked peaceful," was all that Draco offered in reply.

"How long has it been?" Asked Harry, anxious for Ron and Hermione's arrival.

"A little over two hours," replied Draco easily. "Let's go back to the storeroom and start on those potions, your friends will also be guided there upon arrival."

"Okay," said Harry, feeling nervous, remembering the probable poisonous state of the white flower.

He wasn't sure if it was the sleep or the overbearing weight of his conscience, but now he couldn't bring himself to allow Draco to touch that flower. Even though it might be harmless, it might also cause severe injury from just touching it. Draco had sat on the ground for two hours letting him sleep, and for some reason this small act had touched his heart despite everything else. He now deeply regretted his decision to mess with the ingredients. He'd thought that exploiting a loophole in the command that Draco had given him, to gather ingredients but not to do it correctly, was justified but now he realized that he shouldn't have done something simply because of the ability to get away with it. In the past couple of days, he'd lost himself in testing bounds and pushing boundaries but now he'd gone too far.

By the time they reached the storage room, Harry had lost any remaining resolve to keep the ambiguity of the flower's nature from Draco. He sat at table and watched as Draco started unwrapping the cloth strips to examine each ingredient. He was aware of his excessive sweating and raised heartbeat. Sure, he hated Draco for what had happened to him, but enough to seriously injure him?

Suddenly something dawned on him. What if the poison was potent enough to kill Draco just by contact? If Draco died Harry would too. As his mind registered this, he bolted upright to stop Draco from going any further. He was too late, however. While Harry had sat there contemplating, Draco had unknowingly emptied the flower in the potion mixture. It seemed that he had done it using the cloth as he had with the other ingredients, and so Harry's fear receded a little.

He heard a noise outside and turned in eager expectation, but before he could confirm if his friends had arrived, Draco smacked the table and Harry turned back around in shock. He had never actually seen Draco act aggressively before. As he turned, he saw that the potion had turned brown instead of the green that it had been earlier.

"This is not a healing potion," said Draco sharply. Harry nodded helplessly.

"This is poison," continued Draco. Harry stared at him with wide eyes, too afraid to say anything.

"You took the poison hemlock, didn't you?" Draco asked, resentful.

"I…" said Harry. "I didn't know which was which."

"But you suspected. Were you trying to kill me?" Asked Draco, exasperated. "I told you that if I die you will too. I've done everything to be accommodating. I've been far too understanding. I followed you to your house instead of dragging you here on that very night in front of your friends when you would have been terrified and helpless. I explained things to you slowly and even ate the food you spat in. I let you sleep apart from me and I let you wear what you want. I don't reprimand you for being rude. I even let you invite your friends here. But you've gone too far. There has to be repercussions for this."

"Look, I was about to tell you that I might have taken the wrong flower, alright?" Said Harry, hurt.

"Was that because you remembered that if I die, you do too, because of the spectacular bond that has tied our lives together?" Said Draco irritatedly.

"Well, a little because of that," admitted Harry slowly. He wanted to say 'But also because I genuinely didn't want to cause you a serious injury,' but somehow the words would not come out.

"I might as well make you drink the potion you made, then," said Draco savagely. "If you don't care at all what happens to me, why should I care for you? I was raised on the stories of how accepting and loving bonds are, how patient and generous. I waited all my life for you, for this?"

Draco lifted the potion and looked at it for a moment before holding it in front of Harry. Harry stared at Draco in horror.

"If I drink it I will die," he stated. Draco nodded. "Won't you die too?"

"I will have my soul ripped out, but I'll survive," said Draco coldly.

"Oh will you?" Harry shouted, angry again. "So here's one more case where I get the worst end of it. What makes you so special? Why do you get to be the one commanding me around and holding all the power? I'm tired of being chained to you."

"Just drink it," said Draco viciously. "I am done being tied to you."

At that moment, Harry heard the doors bang open and feet scurry in.

"What's going on here?" Said Hermione anxiously.

"Harry, we were outside and heard everything," said Ron. "Please tell me this is all playing pretend."

"Oh, good, your friends are here," said Draco, setting the potion back down. "Maybe they can drink your concoction."

"You leave them out of this," snarled Harry.

"No, this is the perfect punishment," said Draco, in thought. "They seem to be what you care about most. If they're out of the picture, it will teach you a lesson."

"Look, I'm sorry about the stupid flower, alright?" Said Harry, worried now. "But what were you thinking sending a novice like me to differentiate between poisonous and regular flowers?"

"It's tradition," Draco bit out, a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry, okay? And I really was going to stop you before you touched it. Nothing happened anyway, you didn't touch it, no one drank the potion, it's all fine," assured Harry.

"Is that poison?" Asked Ron weakly.

"Again, what's going on here?" Asked Hermione with authority.

"It's all fine?" Repeated Draco. "You don't realize what a close call that was. As I said, you need a good punishment to teach you a lesson. As your friends are your weakness, it will have to be them."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. Ron and Hermione looked confused while Harry looked desperate. Before he could argue any further, Draco started chanting.

"Stop!" Harry shouted. He had to shout because a wind started swirling around Draco. First it was small, but grew larger and larger as time passed and more chanting followed. Draco's eyes were electric blue. Harry took Ron and Hermione by the hands and started leading them out of the storeroom.

"Let's go!" He shouted. "Now!"

Hermione peeled her disbelieving eyes from Draco and she and Ron started following Harry out. When they were about to reach the door however, Harry felt the restraints of the bond holding him back.

"I can't go any further!" He shouted desperately. "You two have to get out of here now!"

"What do you mean?" Ron shouted back. "Come with us!"

Hermione and Ron started pulling on Harry's arms, trying to drag him with them. But it was all to no avail. They pulled and pulled but Harry could not move an inch further. He did feel the immense power of the pull and it felt like his arms would fly off. "Stop!"

Before he could say anything else, Draco's chanting grew to a stop. Harry looked back and saw the wind coming their way. He tried to shield Ron and Hermione behind him but the wind swept past him without effect. He heard the surprised sounds of Hermione and Ron as the wind started to pull them out the door. They were trying to get back to Harry but were caught in the strong wind. As they got out of sight, Harry turned to Draco.

"What did you do?" He croaked. There went his last hope of escape. There was no help for him now.

"A banishing spell," said Draco quietly. "I'm sorry, but it had to be done. I've been too soft with you. Your friends cannot step in the manor again, and they can't contact you on your phone either. If you don't want me to erase their memories of you as well, you better stop fighting me and accept the bond."

Harry stood frozen in shock. How had they gotten here? Picking a flower had seemed so small and inconsequential. Now his friends were banished out of his life and the threat of a memory erase hung over his head.

"You are the worst thing that has ever happened to me," he said to the floor.

"And you me," said Draco flatly.


	7. Turning Point

Harry woke up on the bed. He'd decided that he wanted to stay in his friends' memories, that somehow after this mess was sorted out he'd still want to keep in touch with them, or at least still have his memories of them and know that they remembered him too. If that meant that he had to do everything Draco said and be a good little bonded, then he would play along for now. He woke up in the middle of the night feeling too warm. As he had expected, Draco was draped all over him. As much as he wanted to feel disgusted by this, deep inside he just felt safe and protected.

He was aware that it was the feelings that the bond was pushing onto him and not feelings that he would have had on his own, but in the dark of the night there was no one to judge him for just accepting it and going back to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was too sunny to be early morning. He blinked for a few seconds, surprised at himself for actually getting a good night's rest.

"Sleep well?" Asked Draco. Harry turned to see him sitting on the sofa, books around him and a heavy tome in his hand.

He stared at Draco for a moment, unsure. If he lied and Draco caught him in the lie, he risked angering him and setting the memory erase plan in motion. But his every instinct was fighting against acknowledging that he slept well next to Draco on his bed.

He lowered his head in a non-answer and started lifting the sheets off of him.

"I imagine you'll want a shower before lunch. There are clean towels in the bathroom."

Keeping his eyes on the ground, Harry dragged himself to the bathroom and shut the door behind him, leaning against the opaque glass. On this side of the door, he didn't have to pretend to be docile and agreeable. On this side, he could let himself feel the pain and loneliness of the recent events unfolding. Ron, Hermione, and him had always been a team. Now that they finally had seen enough of the situation to believe him, they weren't allowed to see or even talk to him. Draco had taken his phone and Harry felt a physical ache in its absence.

He shed his clothes and felt a small pleasure at removing the dirty garments. It had been more than three days since his last shower. He'd been brushing his teeth with an extra toothbrush that Draco had left him, but hadn't given himself the satisfaction of a shower. The mirror covering the wall in front of him threw his image back at him. He stared into his tired eyes; eyes that would be tired no matter how many hours of rest he got. He looked himself up and down with scrutiny. Why was he chosen to be a bonded? What was so different about him as opposed to all the other people who got to live their lives normally?

He looked at the scar on top of his forehead, the lightning bolt that had always been there. Was this the mark? He put his thumb over it and tried to smudge it off, as he had done many times before. Sighing, he moved into the shower.

As the water fell on him and splashed onto the ground, he heard a faint click behind him and looked over his shoulder in surprise. There stood Draco, naked, challenging Harry with his eyes.

"I want you to tell me the truth, not worry about what happened yesterday," Draco said softly. His voice echoed in the bathroom and sounded far away because of the barrier that the running water created.

When Harry continued to simply stare, Draco continued, "I know I said some things about a memory wipe, but I was angry because of the poison hemlock. I want to know what you're really feeling. I want to make this a happy bonding, not a bonding of force. I can't lie and say I found no satisfaction in you sleeping on the bed and showering when I asked you to, but it is true that I would have been more satisfied if you had chosen these of your own accord."

Harry shivered as the water was starting to get cold. Draco walked forward, stood behind him, and adjusted the temperature for him. He lifted an arm and held on to Harry's shoulder.

"I just want you to understand," he murmured. "Give this bond a chance. I know you're feeling pleasant when you give in to it, and you feel overly pained when you deny it. Is it so bad to be tied to me?"

Harry looked at Draco in disbelief. "You were blackmailing me yesterday."

"And here I am making amends today," Draco said softly. He leaned even closer and wrapped his arms around Harry, pressing their bodies together.

Harry gasped. He tried to move away. Draco strengthened his hold.

"Don't be difficult," he whispered in his ear. "I'm doing the best I can. I'm feeling guilty for the pain I've caused you, and for taking you from your life. I'm just asking that you meet me halfway."

"You said I can be honest," struggled Harry. "I'm not comfortable with being hugged like this. Please let me go."

"No," said Draco, sighing, breathing Harry in. "If I have to force you to give in to the bond and to your feelings, then I will. If blackmail is the only thing that works for now, then fine. Tell me your feelings, be honest, but do as I ask or give up your friends."

Harry shook with anger. He stood there like a statue, being hugged from behind by Draco, feeling body parts pressed against him that made him overly uncomfortable. He felt absolutely helpless. He had no control over anything. He felt small, and meanwhile his body betrayed him by sending him waves of pleasure through the bond from being so close to Draco.

They stayed that way for what felt like a very long time. Before Harry knew it, he had relaxed into Draco's hold and was leaning on him for support. The water trickled down his skin and his eyes were closed, his breathing even. He felt Draco's shift in weight as a hand reached out for the shampoo bottle. Draco moved them backwards and squeezed some shampoo in his hand. Harry couldn't move, he was still being held close. The hand with shampoo was raised onto his head and then joined by the other in a massage. Draco washed his hair slowly and then moved onto washing his body. Harry stood there uncertainly, feeling the strange tingles of Draco's fingers touching him.

He felt a strong hatred towards Draco but at the same time was enjoying these sensations. He felt mostly confused by these contradictory feelings. When a part of his body leaned into Draco's touch, another part would flinch away. He could feel Draco's smile against his neck. The bastard was enjoying messing with his feelings this way.

Draco washed Harry's arms and stomach and then let go of him to wash his back. Harry stood there without Draco's body heat, shivering. The bond rejoiced whenever they were close and he felt the involuntary disappointment now that Draco was further away. Draco placed a hand on his back and Harry's body relaxed again. Draco released a small laugh and Harry frowned and turned to face him.

"You're using the bond against me and I hate it," he announced freely, taking Draco for his word that he could still be honest without repercussions.

"I'm testing the boundaries of the bond, that's all," said Draco with a smile.

He looked at ease and his smile was so familiar and inviting that Harry couldn't stop himself from wanting to make him be as miserable as he was feeling. He opened his mouth to snarl an insult, but Draco must have seen it coming and leaned in to close his mouth with a kiss.

Harry stared wide eyed. He was torn between standing still and tearing himself away. The bond was purring at the contact. Draco moved back and Harry stood there frowning at him.

"You have no right to be kissing or touching me," he snarled, finally free.

"You're my bonded," said Draco simply. "I have every right, just as you have every right."

Before Harry could respond back, Draco took his hand and put it on his body. He slowly let the hand drop and it trailed down his chest. Harry was mesmerized by how soft it was and he unconsciously let his hand linger over the few scars that were there. When his hand finally fell back to his side he looked up to see Draco smiling contently.

"I have no desire to rule over your life and command you to do things," he said suddenly. "These commands are usually only used in the beginning when the bonded is still reluctant to give in and in any other emergency where one needs to quickly take charge. For instance, Mother hardly ever orders Father around. In fact, Father is usually the one whose saying goes."

"Then stop ordering me around," pleaded Harry.

"I can't, not until you stop fighting the bond," said Draco sadly.

He situated Harry under the shower head and started rinsing him off. They stood there quietly. After Harry was clean, he took a towel and left the bathroom while Draco started washing himself. He stood outside in his towel, looking at their messy bed. Would he ever stop fighting the bond? He doubted it. Freedom and choice were too important to him. It was hard for him to hate Draco after all the emotions he'd just gone through, but a part of him hated Draco all the more for manipulating his feelings through the bond that way.

He dried himself and slipped into the clothes that Draco had left for him. They fit better than Dudley's hand-me-downs had ever fit, but they felt wrong on him. He didn't belong to this place, to this sort of life.

They went to lunch with Harry feeling perplexed. On the one hand, he could give in to the bond and get a certain amount of freedom back as well as feel the pleasures that came with it. On the other, he could stay true to himself and fight it despite the pains and disappointments.

As Draco sat at the dining table, Lucius pulled Harry to the side, giving him a measured look.

"I told you to give him all that he can take," he said.

"And I have been," said Harry.

"Yes," said Lucius. "I was hoping that by doing so you would see that hurting him hurts you in turn. You two are bonded and his pleasure will give you pleasure and his pain will bring you pain."

Harry frowned and looked down.

"I know how hard it is to acknowledge that and give another tactic a chance instead of just blindly fighting on," Lucius continued. "But just experiment with the bond. You've tried causing Draco pain by keeping your distance and going against his wishes, and that hasn't boded well."

Harry nodded slowly, new ideas pouring in.

"I know it seems like the wicca are the ones in control," Lucius went on. "But we have our own control too. Entice him with the bond. Take back the control. You'll be surprised what the wiccan will be willing to do for love."

Harry took Draco his soup, not spitting in it and he set it down in front of him gently. He took his own soup and after that continued eating the chicken and even had some truffles for dessert. Draco and Narcissa watched with amazement while Lucius looked on with approval.

Harry couldn't help but smile. He was well rested, he was clean, he'd eaten a full meal. Maybe Lucius was right and it was time to turn his situation around. He was going to take as much advantage as he could from his current predicament. In the manor and with Draco's wealth, he could get anything that he wanted. All he had to do was give in to the bond and entice Draco.


	8. Sweet Lies and Manipulation

Harry woke up on the bed for the second time. He backed off slowly; this time he'd been the one sprawled over Draco. Remembering all that had happened yesterday and his resolve to use the bond to his advantage, he stopped himself from backing away. As it was, He was sleeping on his stomach, an arm across Draco's chest. He could smell herbs and flowers on Draco and it calmed his senses, lulling him back to sleep.

He woke up hours later to the feeling of hands running through his hair. He lay there for a few minutes, enjoying the tranquility in spite of himself.

"I've decided to implement a reward strategy," said Draco, sensing Harry's wakefulness. "I'll give you tasks and if you do them genuinely well then I will reward you instead of punishing you if you do something wrong."

Harry turned away and lay on his back, looking at the ceiling in thought. "So I'll be able to have Ron and Hermione back?"

There was a pause. Harry felt his heartbeat speed up. He remembered what Lucius had said about wicca doing anything for love. He turned towards Draco again and after a brief hesitation, raised his hand to Draco's hair and started combing through it. Draco looked at him in surprise.

"S-sure," He stammered.

Harry smiled. Lucius had been right. Draco had said it himself; he'd prepared all his life to love his bonded. With the smallest efforts, he could get him to do anything he wanted.

"What sort of tasks?" Harry asked, trailing his finger down Draco's face.

Draco blinked at Harry a few times, seemingly finding it hard to concentrate on what he was saying. Harry was enjoying the effect he was having on him. Up until now Draco had been in absolute control, but that was about to change.

"I thought you would be against this, to be honest," said Draco confusedly. "You surprise me every day. At first you were ready to kill me, then you were barely controlling yourself under blackmail, and now you seem overly eager to please the bond and get closer to me."

Harry moved his hand away.

"Not that I'm complaining," said Draco hastily.

Harry moved closer and pressed his lips against Draco's slowly. He was trying his best to mess with Draco's emotions but he was feeling tingles of pleasure himself as well. Since he'd started feeling these waves from their shower together, it had become harder to distinguish between his own feelings and feelings that the bond was pushing onto him. He stopped the kiss and pulled back, feeling torn.

"What kinds of tasks?" He asked again somewhat breathlessly.

"We still need to make that healing potion," said Draco, cheeks flushed. "I'll teach you how to find the right flower."

Draco pulled Harry close into a hug and they stayed like that until a maid came to get them for lunch. As Draco held him, Harry tried to sort through his conflicted feelings. Being held and comforted felt pleasant, be it as it may that the person doing the holding and comforting was the same person who had caused all the pain and discomfort in the first place. Harry pushed those thoughts away, reminding himself that the plan here was to manipulate Draco, not develop actual feelings for him.

As he listened to Draco going on about flowers and potions on the way to the dining room, the seductive melodical tone of his voice grabbed hold of him again. While he'd been angry with Draco, he'd blocked all this off and they had become traits that unnerved him and put him on edge, but now that he was trying to be gentle with Draco he was unconsciously lowering his barriers and noticing the effect that Draco had had on him during their first meeting all over again. The silvery blonde hair seemed to shine more than before and his fingertips itched to run through it again. Those silvery blue pools that watched him got him flustered and he was too shy to look in Draco's mesmerizing eyes for long.

He bit his lower lip and tried to stop noticing these things, tried to be angry at Draco again. He hadn't thought that pretending to be nice would have all these side effects. It was hard to tell when he was pretending to be feeling something or actually feeling it, just as it was getting harder to tell which feelings were his and which were influenced by the bond. He was feeling incredibly confused and his head hurt going in circles trying to find which thoughts were his and which were pretence or influenced by the bond.

He tried to shut off the pleasure he was feeling inside because of all the attention that Draco was giving him. Draco was talking in detail about the differences of poison hemlock and a harmless white flower, with a passionate fire in his eyes directed at Harry and no one else. He had to consciously stop himself from asking questions to make Draco keep going. It was a relief as well as a disappointment when they reached the dining room.

After lunch, they headed to Draco's storeroom. A jar that hadn't caught Harry's eyes before now stood out in the midst of all the others. Harry walked to the shelf that it sat on and turned to Draco.

"Isn't this the bonding jar?" He asked quietly. "The one you burned that doll in and wrote an enchantment for?"

"It is," said Draco, coming to stand beside him. "Do you see the flowers growing in there?"

Harry nodded. As impossible as it was, small purple flowers were growing amongst the ashes.

"That's heliotrope," stated Draco. "Sign of eternal love. The more our bond grows, the fuller they will become. Before today, they were just sprouting with green leaves and there was no sign of a flower yet."

Harry tried to ignore that last piece of information. "So what happens if the jar breaks?"

"Try it," Draco suggested.

Harry looked at him suspiciously, trying to determine if this was a trap. He slowly picked up the jar and let it fall, all the while looking at Draco cautiously. The jar fell onto the ground and Harry squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the sound of glass breaking, but instead he only heard the sound of the jar rolling away a little. He looked down to find it unharmed. He picked it up and tried again, this time watching closely. As the jar was about to make contact with the ground, it suddenly slowed and rested down safely, rolling a little. Harry picked it up one more time and tried to open the lid instead; but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge. He tried to instead smash it against the ground himself, and this time a blue barrier actually appeared, stopping it at the last moment. He finally set the jar back on the shelf, surrendering to the magic protecting it.

"It's unbreakable, like our bond," said Draco, satisfied.

"Of course it is," said Harry, trying to sound happy, as he went with Draco to inspect the harmless white flower.

"If you knew the differences between these flowers yourself," he started, in thought. "Why did you add the poison hemlock to the potion? Wouldn't you have been able to identify it by sight?"

Draco reddened and looked away. "I was trying to make a more dramatic point," he murmured.

Harry heard himself laugh for the first time since the bonding.

Draco looked up at him, embarrassed. "Don't laugh. I didn't know what else to do, you were being reckless and difficult."

Harry looked over at Draco, for the first time trying to see things from his perspective. "I suppose I was a little stubborn," he allowed.

"And now?" Asked Draco, guarded.

Harry bit his lower lip. He'd woken up with the plan to manipulate and use Draco, but allowing the bond to spread had influenced him more than he liked to admit. "Now heliotrope is growing in our jar," he answered evasively; but his answer seemed to please Draco.

"Do you know why you were chosen to be a bonded?" Draco asked out of the blue, as they were mashing the flowers to a paste.

"I gathered it was a random happenstance," said Harry, frowning.

"Well, yes and no," said Draco, continuing to work on the flower. "It was random in the sense that you and I were paired together by universe's doing and not our own. But it was not random that you are a bonded in general."

"What do you mean?" Said Harry, forgetting the task at hand completely and looking at Draco intently.

"Well, you have an affinity for nature," explained Draco. "Wicca control nature. Bonded are always closer to it than other humans are, because they have a little magic too. If your magic had been stronger, you would have been a wiccan yourself. It is usually because one of your parents was a wiccan that married a normal human, giving birth to a bonded instead of a wiccan. other than my ancestors, other wicca are not linked to their bonded. They go through life having an equal chance of finding their bonded or marrying for love, although they will always feel that something is missing."

"My parents died in a car accident when I was one," said Harry quietly. "Are you saying one of them was a wiccan?"

"That's how bonded are usually born," Draco said, nodding.

Harry sat there quietly for some time. This was the first time he was hearing something about his parents. It did make sense; the Dursley's had a fear of the unnatural and they had always refused to talk about his parents.

"You okay?" Asked Draco, carefully placing a hand on Harry's back.

Harry felt the comfort of the contact and it made him even more discontent. "Just a lot to take in."

"I know you're trying your best to accept the bond," said Draco softly. "I appreciate that. I understand the discomfort and the confusion. I know it hasn't been fair to you to be treated with threats and having your friends pushed away. I'll lift the banishing spell if you need their support right now. Just tell me what you need and you will have it. All I want is for us to work and be happy."

Harry looked down at his feet. Here was the result of his manipulations and all he could feel was ashamed. It really seemed that it wasn't Draco's fault that they were bound together and if he were to be honest the past few days in the manor had been oceans away from the kind of life he was used to at the Dursley's. It was better. If he was to take away the fights he'd had with Draco, he'd been treated better than he had ever hoped to be. Lucius had been right, he did feel the fight and hatred slowly dying.

He was brought back to his surroundings as a knock sounded at the door. He stayed at the table while Draco went to answer it. He came back with a small rectangular parcel in his hands and a tentative smile. Harry looked at him questioningly as the parcel was offered to him. He accepted it and unwrapped it; inside was a pair of glasses with dark purple frames.

"What's this?" He asked slowly.

"A new pair of glasses with the correct power," explained Draco shyly. "Your glasses are held together with a mountain of sellotape and they are obviously not the correct power."

"How did you know my power?" Harry asked, surprised, as he tried it on. He could see details that he'd never seen before. It was like the world was suddenly a lot closer to him than it previously had been. He had to blink and lean back; it was almost too much to take in at once.

"I can tell what your power is the same way that I can tell if you're feeling an ache somewhere or have any illness," answered Draco. "It's just something that we're able to do."

Harry looked around him in wonder. He picked up a book and looked at the words; he was able to read them without having to squint.

"Thanks," he said softly.

It seemed that everything that was happening today was making him feel worse and worse about manipulating Draco. He dropped his head, deciding to be honest instead of fake. It had never been him, to take advantage of someone, he'd only wanted to do it because it was the only way he could cope with his current situation. He opened his mouth to tell Draco that everything today had been pretend, but he closed it again, suddenly unsure about the validity of that statement.

"Can you also tell when I'm lying?" He asked instead.

Draco nodded without replying, looking uncomfortable.

"So you know what I was trying to do today?" He asked, looking away.

"Yes," said Draco softly. "But I was enjoying it all the same."

"I won't lie to you anymore," said Harry uncomfortably.

Draco nodded sadly, turning to empty the mashed flowers in the healing potion.


	9. Acceptance

Harry had slept on the bed the night before without much thought. When he woke up however, Draco and him were still on their own sides of the bed. He turned to look at Draco's sleeping form, feeling wistful. Whether the feeling was coming from the bond or himself was very hard to determine. All he knew for sure was that after what he'd done yesterday, or at least had tried to do, Draco was now subconsciously keeping a distance between them. He was surprised at himself for feeling wistful about that; he'd have thought that he'd be happy to have some space back.

He turned around and tried to go back to sleep, but instead lay staring at the bathroom door with no luck, restless. He turned back around and tried to will Draco with his eyes to wake up so they could go for a walk or something, but Draco slept soundly on. Harry sighed. If there was no distance barrier, he could take a walk himself. It would be interesting and in a way scary to explore the unknown manor on his own in the dark.

He got out of bed and went to the outermost edge of the bond. He could almost reach the bedroom door on the other side of the vast room. He stayed on the edge and remembered that first night when he'd tried to leave the bond's boundaries. He'd felt a strong charge go through him after he'd tried again and again to find a way out of the boundary, and thoughts had kept popping into his head telling him to turn back. Now however, the bond was slightly restless but allowed him to sit on the edge, knowing that he wasn't fighting it anymore.

Harry saw Draco tossing and turning on the bed; he could feel the restlessness of the bond in his sleep too. He moved back within the boundary, not wanting to accidentally wake Draco. As he lay back on his side of the bed, Draco started patting the mattress around him, as if searching for something. When his hand came to rest on Harry's stomach, it seemed that he had found the object of his pursuit and he snuggled close, holding onto Harry and breathing out deeply with satisfaction. Surprisingly enough, it didn't take Harry long to fall asleep after that.

"I've lifted the banishing spell," said Draco in the morning when Harry woke up. "You can contact your friends again."

Harry felt his confiscated phone fall on the bed and sleepily reached for it. He was aware of the slightly grumpy tone of Draco's voice, but he couldn't pass up the chance to enquire after his friends. The last time he'd seen them they were being pushed out by Draco's banishing spell in the shape of a strong wind that had seemed to affect only Ron and Hermione. He blinked at the phone.

"You charged it for me?" He asked, surprised.

Draco shrugged. Harry reddened at the prospect of Draco having gone through his phone; who knew what he could have found on it.

"I didn't go through your phone if that's what you're worried about," said Draco, seemingly amused by Harry's coloured cheeks. "I'd rather not see any messages from exes."

Harry ignored the comment and instead called up Ron and Hermione.

"Harry!" Said Hermione, after she and Ron were connected through a conference call.

"Are you okay?" Asked Ron worriedly. "We've tried calling and visiting but…"

"I'm fine," Harry cut in. "I need to know that you believe me about what I said now."

"What was that?" Hermione asked in reply. "That wind, how was that possible?"

Harry sighed. He now understood the fatigue that Draco had felt while trying to convince him about the binding spell. "It was a banishing spell. It was my fault, I took the white poison hemlock flower for Draco's healing potion and to punish me he banished you guys."

"Harry, don't you think that sounds crazy?" Said Hermione nervously. "You're talking about actual magic and spell work here."

"Hey, we saw it with our own eyes," interjected Ron, the more superstitious and open of the two. "How else do you explain everything that happened?"

"Look, we'll come visit again after school and figure it out, alright?" Said Hermione. "We're not… banished anymore, right?"

"You can come and visit," said Harry, ignoring the wary look Draco sent him. "The banishing spell was lifted."

"Harry, you know that the police are looking for you, right?" Hermione whispered.

"The Dursley's actually contacted the police?" Asked Harry, gaping.

"Well they couldn't just sit on their hands," said Hermione. "After you didn't show up to school on Monday the teachers started asking questions, because you'd never missed a day before. Now it's Thursday and you've been officially missing for three days, since the Dursley's say that they last saw you on Monday morning. They couldn't ignore it because the neighbours started asking questions and you know how they care about keeping face. So the police have been alerted and you have a missing person's file now."

"You didn't tell them I'm here, did you?" Asked Harry worriedly.

"No, but I'm very close to it," Said Hermione. "Maybe it's for the best to have Draco arrested on kidnapping charges, then you can come back home, Harry."

"No!" Said Harry quickly. Draco sent him a questioning look. Harry pursed his lips. "I told you, I'm bound to him. Anywhere he goes, I go. Keep this to yourselves. Just come over and I'll tell you everything, okay? Don't do anything rash."

He hung up after they agreed and looked at Draco warily.

"What?" Asked Draco, looking serious.

It made Harry's stomach drop. He contemplated keeping it to himself.

"Harry, tell me the truth, what did they say that got you so worried?" Commanded Draco, leaning forward. "I heard something about police."

Harry found himself unable to fight the command. "They're looking for me."

Draco smiled. "Is that all? Let them look."

"But Hermione might end up really telling them where I am," Harry pressed on.

"Let her try," Draco said again, his smile widening.

"I don't think you're grasping the severity of the situation here," said Harry, frowning. "If you get locked up, I'll be stuck in there with you. Don't you think they will start asking questions about what is keeping us tied together?"

Draco shook his head. "No, I do understand. Harry, this entire manor is off radar. Why do you think the police haven't found you by tracking your phone's GPS yet whereas your friends were able to?"

Harry frowned. That was a good point.

"Your friends were able to track you because you wanted them to find you. You don't want the police to find you, so they won't be able to track the location of the manor. That's just how it works. And if anyone tries to talk about the location of the manor, they'll find themselves unable to utter a word."

"But hasn't any bonded ever wanted to be found by the police to be rescued?" Asked Harry as he remembered wanting that himself at first.

"We have ways of dealing with unwanted attention," said Draco simply.

"Why did you lift the banishing spell?" Harry asked instead.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Asked Draco, tilting his head at Harry.

His silky hair slid over into his eyes and Harry found himself staring. He nodded blankly. Draco smiled, put his book down on the couch and moved to sit next to him on the bed. Harry shifted, suspicious. Draco put his arms around Harry and pulled him so that his head was resting on Draco's thigh. He turned to look at Draco as Draco's fingers started combing through his unruly hair.

"Just relax," Draco instructed, feeling Harry's tense shoulder muscles.

Harry's body obeyed the command. He closed his eyes as Draco started rubbing his shoulders and back. He was noticing that it was harder for him to fight Draco's commands, or maybe Draco had stopped giving the types of commands that were against his nature. Whichever the case, he could not leave the relaxed state he had entered even when he felt Draco's hand slip under his shirt and touch his bare skin. Before Draco could go any further, a servant came to call them for lunch. Harry was dangerously unsure of whether he was glad for the interruption or disappointed by it. Before they left the room, Harry saw the lust in Draco's eyes as he looked at him and made sure to avoid eye contact after that.

It was evening by the time Ron and Hermione reached the manor. Harry was in the garden again, picking ingredients. Draco was leaning on a tree, watching him intently. Hermione ran to Harry, hugging him, glaring at Draco. Ron came forward more cautiously, keeping an eye on Draco who kept his expression neutral.

"We're here," said Hermione breathlessly, letting go of Harry. "Now tell us what's going on."

"Let's sit down first," said Harry warily. "It'll be a long story."

They went to Draco's storeroom once more, although Ron was jumpy and wary of everything. His eyes kept flickering towards Draco who sat at the table with them but held up a book to indicate that he was giving them some privacy. Harry took a deep breath and started from when he'd separated from them on Friday night after the cold night in the woods, telling them how everything had happened. He kept the more intimate parts of the story to himself, and was aware of the amused looks that Draco sent him when he censored something out. By the time he finished talking, his story had so many holes that he himself was frowning with confusion.

"That's the gist of it," he concluded uneasily.

Hermione looked like for the first time she was actually believing it. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have bet my life against that story," she admitted. Ron nodded silently.

"Can we talk?" He whispered. "Like just the three of us?"

Harry looked sideways at Draco who sighed, got up, and moved as far away as the bond allowed. Harry looked at Ron quizzically.

"What are you going to do now?" He whispered. "You're basically his slave and you're saying there's no way out of it."

"It's more complicated than that," said Harry slowly. "I'm a bonded because of my lineage, not because of a spell that Draco put on me. And I'm not his slave, I can still get my way. I don't know, I guess it's just not as bad as it sounds."

"You sound like you're actually accepting it," Ron said, frowning.

"You're not, are you?" Asked Hermione, distraught. "You know about Stockholm syndrome, don't you?"

Harry looked at their distressed faces and wondered when he'd stopped fighting the bond. Maybe it really was Stockholm syndrome and did have something to do with the fact that he'd started to like Draco and appreciate the life he was having here. He remembered how important choice and freedom had been to him, and he knew that they were still just as important to him now. It wasn't that he had changed his values; he had simply stopped feeling trapped.

Even last night when he'd wished he was free to explore the manor, he'd ended up crawling back to bed with Draco instead of waking him up and demanding to go exploring. As he pored over all these little things that he'd started unconsciously doing as opposed to how he'd been acting at the beginning of their bonding, he realized how vastly different his feelings and behaviours had become.

"I think I am accepting it," he uttered in shock. "I guess at some point I forgot how angry I was supposed to be and started adjusting. Even if that is Stockholm syndrome, it is my only alternative: to make the best of my situation here."

He looked at his friends' disbelieving faces. He couldn't make them understand what he'd been through, how he'd tried fighting with, lying to, ignoring, and sabotaging Draco and how pointless he found all of that now that he realized all he had to do to get what he wanted was to ask something reasonable and Draco would help him obtain it. They wanted him to keep fighting and find a way to be free, but as Harry was starting to realize, he no longer felt trapped.

"It's getting late," said Hermione, still looking at Harry as if he'd lost his mind. "We'll talk to you again soon, Harry, alright?"

Ron nodded. "Just think about what you're really in for, okay? Try and realize what kind of control this weirdo has over you."

Harry nodded absently as they left, trying to reconsider his feelings. Was he really okay with his situation now? He knew that he wasn't as angry as he'd been in the beginning. He wasn't looking for ways out of the bond now; instead he was experimenting with it. And he'd stopped blaming Draco for some time now. Was that wise? Maybe Ron and Hermione were right, maybe he should still be fighting the bond instead of meekly giving in to it.

Draco came and sat next to him, watching him guardedly. Harry looked at Draco and couldn't help but smile. Ron and Hermione wouldn't understand him accepting his situation because they weren't in his shoes, they hadn't experienced everything he had, and most importantly, they didn't know Draco like he did. It was ironic how he found himself defending Draco now, but it was true. He supposed he could have been bonded to worse characters. Draco had punished and threatened him once, but other than that he'd mostly let Harry get his way.

For the first time, he realized that he could be happy here; that perhaps he had been happy here for a while now.


	10. Parentage

Harry stood staring at Severus Snape, whom he had just been introduced to. He felt something strange around this new character, a sort of pull that was almost similar to what he had felt towards Draco that first night in the woods.

"...he will be your professor," Draco was saying. "As I explained to you before, you can learn everything that is needed for a bonded to know right here."

Harry was still staring at Snape, and it seemed that he was being scrutinized as well.

"What's wrong?" Asked Draco, frowning. "I know he looks a little intimidating, but he has a soft heart on the inside, don't you Severus?"

Snape continued to blankly stare at Harry with no reply. Harry took a step back.

"I feel something weird towards him," he whispered, confused. "Like a pull, like when we first met."

Draco looked puzzled. He waved a hand and muttered something rushed. Harry gasped as two strings appeared in his midsection. He reached down towards them but was unable to grasp anything physical. The two strings, one gold and one blue, seemed to disappear inside him. He followed them with his eyes; the golden one seemed to be attached to Draco and the blue went towards Snape.

"Everything alright here?" Lucius asked as he and Narcissa entered the room. "We came to see how Harry's first lesson was going."

Draco turned towards them silently. Harry looked at the strings that appeared as Draco's parents entered the room, feeling more perplexed. There was a gold string between Narcissa and Lucius and a blue string from Draco to each of his parents. Lucius looked down at himself and the coloured strings.

"Done a visualizing spell, have you? Is that part of the lesson?" He frowned as his eyes fell upon the blue string that was connecting Harry and Snape. "What's going on here?"

Harry gaped. "Why is there a string connecting me to him?"

Snape moved forward and held Harry by the shoulders, too fast for anyone to react. "Tell me the name of your Mother."

Harry stared at the bewildered face close to his own, speechless.

"Hurry, boy!" Demanded Snape, shaking Harry. "Your Mother's name, now!"

"Lily, my Mother's name was Lily," said Harry. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Lily," said Snape, letting go of Harry and slumping down on an armchair. "Lily…"

"Lily?" Asked Narcissa, moving towards Snape, looking at Harry. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Harry, frowning. "Why?"

"Lily was the name of Severus's bonded," said Lucius, paling.

Draco pulled Harry back. As Harry struggled, Draco shook his head. "We need to talk."

They entered Draco's storeroom, across from the library that they had all been in, and sat down on a bench. Draco looked at Harry anxiously.

"This makes no sense," Draco said, shaking his head.

"Can you please tell me what's going on?" Asked Harry impatiently.

"If your Mother Lily is Severus's bonded Lily, then there's something that you need to know," he said slowly, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Lily was supposed to be bonded to Severus. They found each other when they were fourteen. They both felt the pull of the bond, and Severus knew right away what the pull meant. She didn't know of course, as no bonded does. They became friends, but Severus never told her about their bond, worried about scaring her off. They were friends for two years, until before their sixteenth, when they were meant to bond."

"I don't understand," said Harry, rubbing his neck. "Are you saying Severus is my Father?"

"No," said Draco. "Before your Mother and Severus could bond, another wiccan came along and performed a binding ritual on himself and Lily. His name was James Potter."

"That's my Father," whispered Harry. "How did he bind himself to someone that wasn't his bonded?"

"He was in love with Lily and she with him. He didn't tell her that she wasn't his bonded and went along with the binding ritual," said Draco with disgust. "After the binding ritual was done, Severus could no longer perform a binding ritual and was thus cut off from his bonded. He never saw her again, the pain he felt was too great. When he felt her death, he went into perpetual mourning. We never speak of it."

Harry stood up, agitated. "My Father would never do that. He must have not known, or really loved my Mother. And this still doesn't explain the blue string between Snape and me."

"Look, I'm just telling you what I've been told about the story. But your Father had to have known, a wiccan always knows his bonded. Stealing another's bonded has been performed a few times in history, but it is looked upon with contempt. It's one of the worst things you could do to a wiccan; stealing their bonded," said Draco solemnly. "About the blue string, well, Severus was meant to be your Father. Even though your biological Father was James Potter, your wiccan Father is Severus Snape."

Harry sat back down, trying to take it all in. This was an impossibly large amount of information. He frowned, suddenly realizing something.

"You told me that one of my parents was a wiccan who'd married a normal human; that that's how bonded are born. But now you just said that my Mother was a bonded and my Father a wiccan. So how can I be a bonded?" He asked triumphantly, as if this one little inconsistency would prove everyone wrong and his Father innocent.

"That's what I'm confused about as well," confessed Draco. "If your Father was a wiccan who falsely bound himself to a bonded, your magic should have still been strong enough to be a wiccan, not a bonded."

"They bonded for love, alright?" Said Harry, hurt. "Stop being so deprecating."

Draco gave him a hard look. "I know it's hard for you to be hearing this about your Dad, but a bond is sacred. Stealing someone's bonded is like taking their soul from them."

Before Harry could argue back, Snape entered the room; he was looking at Harry with guarded eyes. He came and sat at the bench across from them.

"I trust that Draco has related the events of the past to you," said Snape, his voice empty of emotion.

Harry nodded once. He looked at the man sitting in front of him. He was covered in black clothing, his hair shoulder length and neatly kept, his eyes dark and calculative. He'd never seen a picture of his Father, but he was sure that it would have been someone filled with more light. He understood why his Mother had not chosen Severus. Snape must have seen the judgement in Harry's face, because he grimaced.

"I am not here to be your loving Father or some such nonsense. I came here to be your professor, and I'll continue teaching you. We won't speak of the past or this thing between us," said Snape, gesturing at the blue string between them.

Draco quickly waved his hand again, making the ties disappear. Although the physical evidence was gone, Harry still felt an uncomfortable pull towards Snape. He nodded slowly at Snape, and thus they went back to the library to start their first lesson; Lucius and Narcissa were not there anymore.

"We'll start from the basics, the things that you already know of," said Snape, pulling some books and bringing them to the table where Harry and Draco were sat. "The first thing you saw of magic was the binding ritual, so we'll study that first. I'm assuming that you are already familiar with the names of ingredients and how to gather them while helping Draco with his potions in these past few days. Now, do you recall which ingredients were used in the binding ritual?"

"A cotton doll, a glass jar, paper, and a wooden stick," said Harry. He could still recall the scene of the ritual as if it had happened a moment ago. It was after all the moment that had changed his whole life.

"What type of wood?" Asked Snape. "And you are missing the most important ingredients."

"I don't know what type of wood," said Harry blankly. "And that's all the ingredients Draco used."

"No, he also used fire and the existing pull between you two," corrected Snape. "The type of wood matters as you cannot write the binding words with just any stick. The common type of wood used in rituals is beech as it chars the fastest."

"That's not true," Harry said suddenly. "He couldn't have used the pull between us. You said my Father bound himself to my Mother falsely; which means that there was no pull between them."

"There was the pull of love between them," said Snape dryly. "As I said, we will not be discussing the past here, Mr Potter."

Harry frowned as Draco elbowed him. He looked up at Snape's greasy nose and pursed his lips.

"You'll be taking notes on what I teach you," Snape said after a moment. "Beech is used most commonly in rituals."

Harry reluctantly pulled the paper and pen placed on the table closer to him and started jotting down the information.

"Why is that important? I'm a bonded, I won't be conducting any rituals," he said stubbornly.

"Every bonded helps their wiccan in their rituals and you should know which ingredients to prepare," said Snape, ignoring the malice in Harry's voice. "That is why we won't concentrate on the incantations that are used for the rituals; only the ingredients."

Harry looked at Snape exasperatedly, then turned to Draco. "That's more boring than chemistry was."

"Maybe you'll be more interested in the next part, which is the cloaked run that you experienced next," said Snape coolly.

Harry turned towards him, grudgingly interested.

"There are two spells cast together that make it possible," explained Snape, searching through a book, opening a chapter, and placing it in front of Harry. He pointed at a paragraph on the page. "The cloaking spell and the momentum spell."

Harry read the paragraph and looked back up at Snape. "That's all? I was expecting there to be an actual invisible cloak that made us fast or something."

"Hard to please, are you?" Asked Snape. "Very well, we shall move on to what interests every bonded; the spells you can share with the wiccan. For example, shielding from the cold, which is the most relevant right now."

Draco sighed and stood up. Harry followed as they all went to the garden and into the snow. He was only wearing a sweater and soon started shivering. He glared at Draco and Snape who were oblivious to the cold.

"Now hold Draco's hand," said Snape.

Harry looked at him in confusion. Draco sighed and took Harry's hand in his. Immediately, Harry felt a difference; his temperature started to rise. It went on until he was at a comfortable room temperature. Draco let go of his hand, and he started to get cold again. He quickly took Draco's hand, feeling snug and warm amongst the snow. They shared a smile, but it disappeared as he turned to face Snape.

"I'll admit that one is useful," he said unwillingly.

"There are other such spells that you can share with Draco but no other wiccan, since he is your bonded and his magic is tuned to include you," explained Snape as they headed back to the library.

"That is all that we'll be covering today," Snape said, as they reached the library. Study the books I left on the table regarding the binding ritual, cloaked run, and shared spells. Write me an essay on each by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Asked Harry, gaping.

"Just a page on each," Said Snape, seemingly a little amused.

As he excused himself and left, Harry stood there still holding onto Draco's hand. Draco tried to let go, but Harry still held on.

"You've been acting strange since my friends' visit yesterday," he said, looking into Draco's eyes.

Draco shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."

"You haven't tried to flirt or order me around," said Harry simply. He continued jokingly, "Frankly it's weird. I've gotten used to a certain kind of treatment around here."

Draco sighed and leaned against a bookshelf. "I overheard your conversation yesterday."

"Which part?" Asked Harry, standing in front of him.

"The part about Stockholm syndrome and what kind of hold this weirdo has on you," said Draco, looking away from Harry. "About how you should keep fighting."

"Then you must have also heard the part about me defending you and telling them that I want to make the best out of my situation here," said Harry.

"What I saw was you questioning your feelings," said Draco, still looking away.

"Look, I honestly don't blame you for what happened and I'm adjusting as best as I can," said Harry earnestly. "That conversation only made me realize how much my feelings have really changed, it didn't make me go back to being angry."

"But how do you know that's not the feelings that the bond is pushing onto you?" Asked Draco, finally looking Harry in the eyes.

"Isn't that something I should be worried about and not you?" Asked Harry, amused.

"I want to know the reason behind how you're acting towards me," said Draco adamantly. "I want to know if they're coming from you or the bond."

"Fair enough," said Harry. "But even I don't know anymore. At first it was easy to differentiate between the two, but the lines have gotten blurry for a while now."

"Then let's do a clarity spell," suggested Draco. "It will show your real feelings towards me, disregarding the bond's hold on you."

"You realize that not every problem can be solved by a spell?" Asked Harry, noticing how often Draco seemed to use them compared to everyone else.

"Says who?" Said Draco, already getting ready to cast the spell.

Harry followed him to the storeroom where Draco picked up a bottle with clear blue contents and let a drop of it fall on Harry's hand. The golden string connecting the two of them appeared once more, but seemed to slowly split into two strings. The two strings that appeared in its place were both gold. Harry looked at Draco in confusion, but the look he was met with was amazement.

"This string is the feelings that the bond was influencing in you," said Draco, pointing at the golden string on the left. "The other is the feelings that you are feeling independently of the bond. They are one and the same."

Harry had no time to comment on that as Draco pulled him into a passionate and unexpected kiss.

He pulled back, pushing Draco away. "I was just told that my Father broke a sacred wiccan rule to bind himself to my Mother and now my professor is the man that he stole my Mother from."

"So?" Said Draco, trying to close the distance between them again.

Harry pushed him away resolutely. "So there is a better time for this. I need to somehow figure out if this information is true, and if it is, why I'm a bonded. I have a lot more on my mind than what you seem to have in your head."

Draco looked sullen, but stopped fighting against Harry.

"Fine. We shall summon the ghosts of your parents and ask them."


	11. Seance

The colours outside grabbed his attention despite the grim setting around him. The sky had lines of red and purple cutting through it, with the newly rising moon shining in the background. Its serenity was at odds with what he was experiencing inside. Everything had happened so fast that he wasn't sure he had even digested it all yet. For one, what were the chances of him getting bonded to Draco, who was in contact with Severus Snape, who was supposed to have been bonded to his Mother? The wiccan community couldn't have been that small. He'd seen all those clusters of family names on Draco's ancestral chart, and that had only been one family's tree.

"Move that candle a bit to the left," commanded Draco, bringing Harry back to the present.

Harry tore his eyes off of the sky and looked around him. Draco had decided to do the seance in the front hall, saying that it had the energy of many people coming in and would make it easier for the dead to come in and visit them as well. It made no sense to Harry, since another way to look at it would be that the front hall was were many people left the manor from and thus it would be logical to say that it carried the energy of people leaving so it wouldn't be easy for the dead to come through or even that all the coming and going balanced each other out.

He moved the candle near his foot a little to the left and looked at Draco for approval. They'd been setting this up for the past few hours. They hadn't seen Snape again after the day's lesson had ended, but Harry was sure that the servants had informed Narcissa and Lucius by now about what their Son was up to in their front hall. If they had a problem with it, they hadn't shown up to voice it so far.

The tall thick white candles were arranged in a big circle and a white chalk was used to draw many shapes and circles around them, connecting them at places. Harry had had to gather various ingredients that were mashed and added under an incantation into a bowl and set at the foot of the circle. Draco and him were wearing white outfits, ready for the summoning, but they had to wait for midnight to light the candles and start the ceremony. It had all seemed a bit ridiculous to Harry until he'd seen how seriously Draco was taking it.

"It's not good to offend the dead," he had said.

Harry wasn't completely sure that it would work. Even though all the spells Draco had done so far had been successful, this seemed a bit far fetched. He'd never even seen a picture of his parents, how was he supposed to know if Draco summoned the right dead people? He supposed his speculation was due to the fact that he had never really believed in ghosts, or at least seances. He'd always seen psychics claiming to do it as part of a scam, and it had stuck with him. Was it possible that this one would actually work and he'd meet his parents for the first time since they had passed on?

After every detail was ready and perfected, there was nothing left to do but wait. Draco insisted that Harry snuggle with him on the sofa and he found himself unable to resist. The contact with Draco reminded him of their earlier experiment with the golden string of the bond, but as midnight approached, he found himself forgetting about all thoughts other than his parents. He felt himself grow anxious, and Draco's hand reached up to rub soothing circles on his back.

"It'll be alright," Draco reassured. "Just remember to remain standing behind me because I will be opening the connection through you and if you move the connection will close. I won't be able to do anything except continue with the incantation once the connection opens; it's up to you to ask the questions."

Harry's mouth was too dry to make a comment. He nodded and got up with Draco, taking his place behind him at the foot of the circle. He felt a tremor go through him; there were goosebumps on his arms. He kept his eyes at Draco's back as the clock started chiming. Harry started counting along. He could see Draco nodding slowly as each chime sounded; he was counting them too. After the twelfth chime sounded, the echo resonating through them, Draco started the incantation. This time, his words sounded not only ancient and powerful, but also strangely hollow. It was as if his own energy was being drained with each word.

Harry bit his lip. He hadn't really expected it to work, but as a white fog started to fill up the room, he felt his uncertainty slipping away. He was really going to come face to face with the ghosts of his parents. He watched helplessly as Draco kneeled before the bowl of ingredients that Harry had helped prepare. It was glowing an iridescent red colour which changed to black when Draco threw some powder into it. His voice was growing weaker as each word left him, while the fog grew thicker around them.

At first, Harry didn't notice any changes because his eyes were on Draco and his mind was occupied with worried thoughts about his energy fading. But when he heard that unearthly voice, his head snapped up and he saw the two faded forms standing in the centre of the summoning circle. Draco's head had by now slumped down, and the incantation was leaving his lips in slow hushed tones. He remembered at the last second about Draco telling him not to move from his position no matter what, and held himself from taking a step forward.

"Harry," the woman's voice repeated, this time in a stronger voice. "My Harry."

"Mum?" Asked Harry, voice filled with wonder. "Dad?"

Unlike his earlier expectations, he could clearly tell that these were in fact his parents and not two random people. He could see his own physical features in them, and that kind smile that they wore; they had to be his parents. He wished he could move closer, to look at them and even try to touch them even though they clearly did not have a physical form.

"Not that it's not good to see you, Son," James said. "But why did you summon us? Is something wrong?"

"I need to ask you about the past," said Harry regretfully. He wished that there was a happier subject to talk about, now that he finally had his parents in front of him.

He saw his Mother sigh. "You mean our bonding."

"Yes," said Harry sadly. "I need to know what really happened between Snape and you."

"Snape?" Asked James sharply. "How do you know about him?"

"It's a long story," said Harry, looking at Draco's weakening form. "And I don't think we have the time."

He saw his parents notice Draco for the first time, a question in their eyes. "That's Draco. I'm bonded to him. I can't explain further, I don't think we have more than a few minutes left and I really need to know what happened."

He watched Lily put a gentle hand on James. "He's right. He needs us and we have to trust him."

James nodded reluctantly and Lily continued, "Severus and I were meant to bond, but I met James before I knew about that. We fell in love and didn't know any better than to bond, being sure that it was the right thing to do. When Severus told me that I was his bonded and that we were to bond, I felt sorry but in my heart I knew that I had done the right thing. James was hopeless without me, we were in love and a perfect match. There was no way to reverse our bond, and even if there was, I wouldn't have wanted it."

Before Harry could form a reply, a shadow stepped out of the hallway.

"I'm sorry, old friend," Lily said wistfully as her eyes fell on Snape.

"You would have lived a long and happy life with me," said Snape, his eyes burning.

"I lived a full and happy life," said Lily gently. "All I can ask for is your understanding and forgiveness."

"We both ask for that," said James grudgingly, after a hard look from Lily.

"At least one of us was happy," grumbled Snape, looking down.

"So you know our Son," said Lily, smiling. "Take care of him for us, will you?"

"I don't owe you anything," said Snape sharply. At the hurt look in Lily's eyes however, he softened. "I will teach him what I can, since you went and got yourself carelessly killed in a car accident."

"Car accident?" Asked James incredulously. "As if I would let her get killed in a car!"

"That's how the newspapers reported it," said Harry, confused. "And uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia never discussed it."

"No, no, that's not what happened at all," said Lily, sharing a worried look with James. "How did they keep it under wraps?"

"With that level of dark power, anything is possible," said James.

"Dark power?" Asked Snape, paling.

"It was Voldemort," Said Lily gravely. "He came for us. When we wouldn't comply, he killed us."

"And Harry? How did he survive?" Asked Snape hurriedly. Draco's words had become mere whispers, his body was visibly losing all its remaining energy. Lily and James' shapes were blurring at the edges; the connection wouldn't stay open for much longer.

"We put our last remaining energy to shield him," said James, his voice sounding far away.

"We love you," said Lily, before they both faded away completely.

Harry stood in place, looking at Snape, more confused than he had been before the seance.

"Who is Voldemort?" He asked, but Snape seemed to not have heard him.

"Make Draco lie down and give him some chocolate and water. Blow out the candles and burn the contents of the bowl. Tell him what your parents told you; he will explain. I need to talk to Lucius and Narcissa," said Snape, rushing out of the hall.

Harry gritted his teeth and did as he was asked. Draco was weak and pale and held on to Harry as he moved him to the couch. He took some water and held the bar of chocolate as Harry went to blow the candles and burn the contents of the bowl. When he came back to Draco's side, half of the chocolate had disappeared and Draco had some of his colouring back.

"Tell me what happened," he said resolutely.

"Are you sure you don't need more rest?" Asked Harry. Draco shook his head. "Did you hear any of that?"

"Only some words here and there. I had to concentrate on keeping the connection open. Tell me what happened," Draco said again.

Harry told him what his parents had said about their bonding, how Snape had appeared midway, and finally what they had said about their death. He rushed through the story, trying to get to the end and ask his questions.

"Are you sure that's what they said?" Asked Draco weakly. "Voldemort?"

Harry nodded. "What does that mean?"

"It's the name of the most powerful dark wiccan," said Draco, cringing. "We don't usually use his name, even that carries darkness with it."

"A dark wiccan?" Asked Harry. "What does that mean?"

"There are wicca like us who use their powers in accordance with wiccan laws, and then there are those dark ones outside the law," explained Draco. "They have no respect for bonds, for example. It should be why He decided to approach your parents; since they also had no respect for the bond between Lily and Severus."

"Seemingly had no respect," interjected Harry, glaring at Draco. "They didn't know any better, remember?"

"Sure," said Draco, looking unconvinced. "Either way, because they broke that rule, they attracted Voldemort's attention, and by refusing him, they faced death. I'm sure Snape must be a bit pleased with that consequence."

"He didn't look pleased," said Harry. "If anything, he looked scared."

"With good reasoning," agreed Draco. "If Voldemort is invested in your family and was unable to kill you as a child, then he will be coming for you soon."

"Me?" Squeaked Harry.

"Yes," said Draco grimly. "He'll be coming here once he knows you are here, which I'm afraid will be sooner rather than later."

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

"His bonded is Bellatrix, who is my Mother's sister, and coming for a visit in a week. But first you have to understand, dark wicca hold no regard for bonds. Even if they find their bonded, they stay close to enjoy the benefits of a bond, but they do not perform a binding ritual and as such remain unbound," said Draco disgustedly.

"But why?" Asked Harry, perplexed. "What's the point if you're going to stay close to them anyway?"

"The point is that you can bind yourself to multiple others who aren't your bonded. Through this, you can drain their magic and become more powerful yourself, as you hold no regard for them," explained Draco, his expression pained. "In fact, He was not a wiccan to begin with. He was a bonded to a dark wiccan, my aunt, Bellatrix. They found each other quite early on but didn't perform a binding ritual, choosing to stay close and instead bond to others. He has gotten many wicca to bind themselves to him and has drained their magic using my aunt's help, so that he can enhance his magic and become a powerful dark wiccan."

"So what could he want from me?" Asked Harry, gaping. "I'm already bound to you."

Draco shook his head. "Remember what I said about bonds not being breakable?"

Harry nodded.

"Dark magic corrodes bonds, that is the core purpose of it. I assume that Voldemort's goal will be to corrode the bond between us and bind himself to you to steal your magic," said Draco stonily.

"But what would be the point of that?" Harry pushed. "I'm only a bonded, I barely have any magic."

"After the events of tonight, we can't assume that to be true any longer," said Draco, his bright eyes on Harry with amazement. "Your parents confirmed the story that your Father is a wiccan and your mother a bonded, which means that you are also a wiccan."

"But I have no magic," Harry pressed on. "And in case you've forgotten, I am a bonded, because I am bound to you."

"No," said Draco, vehemently shaking his head. "You have magic, it's just locked up inside you. I'm guessing that your parents locked it with their shielding spell before they died so that Voldemort could not steal that magic then and there. You were treated as a bonded because of no apparent magic and pulled to me. But now that we know that, we can unlock that magic."

"You mean I'm a wiccan?" Asked Harry, eyes wide.

"You are a wiccan," said Draco triumphantly. "And this is the first wiccan-wiccan bond in all of time, and as such the strongest bond in history. Because we are unlocking your magic after the bond, the bond will still stand."

"Then how come no one else has done that if it's that powerful to be bound to another wiccan?" Asked Harry, trying to keep up.

"It's impossible to lock one's magic. Your parents' life, combined with their dying need to keep you safe, combined with the force of their desperate magic, was what made the locking of your magic possible. No one has ever been able to do that before, because even if you lock a wiccan's magic it is very hard for them not to accidentally unlock it. Your case was unique as you and no one around you had any idea that you were a wiccan."

Harry leaned back on the couch and stared at the velvety blue sky outside. He never thought that his life could monumentally change again, but the universe had proved him wrong once again.


	12. Transformation

Before Harry could structure his thoughts into a coherent decision on what his next move would be, Draco's parents hurried into the hall, followed by Snape.

"We have one week until Bella's visit," said Narcissa urgently, holding her robe that had been thrown on haphazardly.

"Severus told us everything," Lucius said, coming to a stop in front of Harry, kneeling down to look him in the eyes.

"He's a wiccan," said Draco, his tone still rich with wonder.

Narcissa looked up at him sharply. "Have you confirmed that?"

Draco shook his head and reached over to put a hand on Harry's stomach. He closed his eyes, frowning, and whispered a word, turning his hand over. Harry looked down and gasped as a black foggy symbol appeared there.

"There," said Snape in a hushed voice. "That's the lock on his magic."

"It is impressive that he never accidentally unlocked it," said Narcissa, looking at Harry curiously.

"He never knew to try," replied Snape. "Now, what is the plan?"

Narcissa was quiet for a moment. She kneeled down next to Lucius and looked at the symbol more closely. "This lock is more complex than we thought."

Snape leaned down to examine the symbol for himself. Harry felt uncomfortable under all this scrutiny; everyone was staring at his stomach.

"Yes, I see what you mean," said Snape. "This line here, and this character here. No wonder he never broke it himself. This was created with the dying life force of his parents, it will take almost the same amount of power to unlock it."

"Why are we unlocking it at all?" Asked Harry, feeling hysterical. It seemed that his decisions were being made for him once again.

"Because the murderer of your parents is visiting in a week," said Draco gravely, looking at Harry with determination. "And you need the means to protect yourself."

"But that is exactly why we shouldn't unlock it," said Harry hurriedly. "If he's visiting in a week and will presumably want to steal my magic, why would we unlock it and make his job easier?"

"We can't assume that he won't be strong enough to unlock it himself," replied Snape. "Sure, fifteen years ago he wasn't strong enough. But since then he has drained many wicca and has grown incomparable in terms of power. If he can unlock your magic, you will be losing this one week that you can spend training and growing stronger; you will have no ability or knowledge of your magic. It will be like serving it to him on a silver platter."

Harry swallowed. "What is it like? The magic?"

Narcissa smiled at him warmly. "Don't worry, it is an amazing gift. It has always been a part of you, there is nothing to be afraid of. You will just be reacquainting yourself with it."

Harry nodded. "So how do we do this?"

"We need Severus, obviously," said Narcissa, her brows furrowed. "He has a parental connection to Harry that can be useful in breaking the lock. Draco as well, although his connection is less significant in this case. I will help guide their power by doing the incantation. I'm not sure that's enough, but we can't underestimate the parental bond that Severus has here."

Although Snape's look of concern didn't change, Harry frowned. "Can you stop calling him my parent?"

Narcissa looked at Harry as if seeing him for the first time. "Right now we don't have time to breathe, let alone be offended by mere facts. We have to do the breaking as soon as possible so that you can spend the following week learning and preparing."

"Then let's do it now," said Draco impatiently. "Let's break it now."

"Wait, what about any side effects?" Lucius asked, holding up his hands to slow them down. "This is the first time ever that this is being done. We don't know how the bond will react once Harry gets his magic back."

"It's just a risk we have to take," said Narcissa decidedly.

"We could send them away on a 'holiday' for a month or so, to get them out of observation," offered Snape. "If we're really questioning the sanity of removing the lock."

"You want me to hide from the murderer of my parents?" Asked Harry, his voice rising. "No, unlock my magic so I can kill him on sight."

Everyone turned towards him silently.

"Harry, you can't kill him," murmured Draco, shocked.

"Why not?" Asked Harry, his anger growing. "You all seem to forget that he killed my parents and tried to murder me too. And you expect me to be in the same house with him while he tries to steal magic and do nothing about it?"

"You'll defend yourself, of course," said Snape. "But killing him unprovoked will bring down the wiccan law on everyone here, not just yourself."

"Unprovoked? Wiccan law?" Asked Harry, his head spinning, not sure which to address first.

"Look, I understand the hatred that you're feeling towards Him," said Snape, holding Harry's shoulders. "Do you think I don't want to kill the monster that killed Lily? But if we do so we will be no better than the dark wicca. We will certainly be treated as such by the law. When a disruption as great as a murder occurs here, every wiccan in this city and the next one over will feel the ripple of it. We have law enforcers who will rush here and arrest all of us."

Harry looked into Snape's eyes. For the first time, the wall wasn't there. The passion and honesty shone through.

"I'm not asking you to get along with the man. But if we want to incapacitate him, we have to come up with a comprehensive plan. Not only because murder is out of the question, but also because of how powerful he is as a wiccan. There is no point sitting here and discussing this. First we have to unlock your magic and see if it is even strong enough to withstand the force of his attacks when he chooses to steal your magic."

"Why are we assuming that he will know who I am at all?" Asked Harry suddenly. "Maybe he won't recognize me. He met me once when I was a one-year-old."

Everyone's eyes flicked up to the lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead.

"Do you remember how you got that scar?" Asked Lucius softly. Harry shook his head.

Draco moved forward again to place three fingers over it. He moved them clockwise in a semicircle, uttering a word. Harry felt something cool on his forehead and saw everyone's solemn expressions.

"What?" He asked impatiently.

"It's shining a dark green," explained Narcissa. "That means it was created with black magic. Voldemort will recognize the scar he left on you."

"This scar," said Harry, gasping. "It was left by him?"

He felt an overwhelming sense of nausea. He'd been marked.

Snape nodded at him and blew on his forehead. The cooling sensation disappeared, and the glow with it, Harry assumed.

"Can't we remove the scar?" He asked desperately.

"I'm afraid that none of us are strong enough for that," murmured Snape.

"We need to unlock your magic," Narcissa pressed. "We need to do it right away. The risk of not doing it is greater than the unknown consequences of doing it."

"It is ultimately your decision," said Draco reassuringly.

"Yes," acknowledged Narcissa reluctantly. "But a decision you must make fast."

"Fine," said Harry, bracing himself. "Let's do it. Let's unlock my magic."

"The worst case scenario is that your bond won't hold," said Lucius as they started walking towards the garden.

Harry looked at Draco who was walking beside him, holding his hand for reassurance. He'd dismissed thoughts of any possibility of ever removing the bond between them for some days now. But now that it was a possibility again, instead of hopeful, he felt a kind of sadness. If he wasn't tied to Draco anymore, he had no reason to stay at the manor. He'd found a place for himself here and despite the struggles he'd gone through, he'd come to like his life here. The companionship of being with Draco, someone who was understanding and mindful towards him, would be the thing that he'd miss the most.

He held Draco's hand a bit tighter after that until they reached the ancient white tree. The moonlight streamed down on them. The snow was finally starting to melt away, but the scene was as magical as ever and took Harry's breath away once again. This seemed like a suitable place to decide the rest of his fate.

He stood in front of the tree and the others made a circle around him. Snape was on his right, Draco on his left, and Narcissa directly in front of him, with Lucius standing behind her. They held out their hands in the direction of each other, while Lucius kept his pointed down.

"He is the anchor," explained Snape, still in teacher mode and catching Harry's curious gaze. "That is the role of the bonded, to anchor their wiccan."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. There was so much uncertainty with what they were about to do. Even if his bond with Draco remained intact, how could they define their roles in a wiccan-wiccan bond? He smiled, not finding the idea of being the one to order Draco around the least bit troubling.

He looked up at the perfect circle of the moon as Narcissa started the incantation. There was an undeniable magic in the air, charged evermore by the magic that they were putting into it. Harry watched, mesmerized, as Narcissa's words turned into a white light that surrounded him. By now, Draco was covered in an aura of gold while Snape was covered in a blue one. Would he be able to do spells like these after his magic was unlocked?

He gasped as the black symbols appeared again in front of his stomach, but grew and drifted to the centre of the circle. The blue and golden lights simultaneously moved to encase it. For the first time, Harry felt a physical blow. Until now, all the strings and the glowing scar that had appeared on and around him had felt beyond the physical realm, but this strange black symbol seemed to have a physical hold on him. The more faded the black became as it was covered with the golden and blue lights, the more pain Harry felt in his stomach. It was as if something was eating him from the inside out. He clutched his stomach, falling to his knees.

"Stop," he gasped out.

His words were carried away by the wind. He doubled over as the pain grew. The symbol in front of him was spreading and growing larger in order to try and keep itself from being completely devoured, but it wasn't fast enough. Harry stared at it and willed it to disappear, wanting the pain to stop. He watched in astonishment as the white light encompassing him moved towards the black symbol, covering all the leftover areas that the gold and blue lights hadn't reached yet.

The pain disappeared all at once with the symbol. He felt his magic unfurling inside him like a smooth syrup and sighed with pleasure. Draco appeared at his side a moment later, wrapping an arm around him. Harry brought his hands up and stared at his palms. He could feel the golden energy of his magic buzzing under his skin, ready to be released.

"Are you okay?" Asked Draco with concern.

Harry looked up at Draco, his vision swimming, filled with spots of colour. He tried to blink them away and after a few tries his vision became clearer.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling dreamily.

He heard Narcissa's soft laughter. "He's feeling the magic."

"What about the bond?" He heard Snape ask sharply.

He could still tell whose voice was whose, but they all had a sing-song quality to them that he hadn't heard before. He looked around at the nature surrounding him; it was more beautiful than he could remember. Each flower petal made an impression on him with the life inside it pouring through.

"I feel the bond," said Draco, sounding relieved. He waved his hand just to make sure that the golden string was still in place. "The bond is fine."

Recalling his earlier concerns about their roles in a wiccan-wiccan bond, Harry worked hard to concentrate on Draco. It was hard to keep his attention on a single thing when everything was so adamant on being distracting.

"Draco, sit," he commanded, trying it out.

"Why?" Asked Draco, perplexed. "Are you alright?"

"He's trying to see if he can command you around now that the bond is wiccan-wiccan," said Snape with an amused smile.

"Obviously I'm still in command," said Draco, crossing his arms over his chest. "Harry, stand."

Harry scrambled to stand up and pouted. "Why are you still in charge?"

"Because the bond initially formed between us with me in charge. Don't push your luck, Harry. You're new to the wiccan world, be thankful that I'm still in charge and will make sure you're headed down the right path," said Draco indignantly.

Harry was too busy poking a leaf to pay him much attention. Lucius stepped forward to make a comment, but Narcissa pulled him back. "He's just rediscovering the world; give him the night. We'll talk about the more serious matters tomorrow."

With a reluctant nod from Lucius, Draco's parents left the garden, followed by Snape shortly after that. Draco kept a cautious hand on Harry's back but let him walk around the garden, touching and looking at things that had seemed so ordinary before but looked so fascinating now.


	13. Flirt

It was an hour before Harry was tired enough to stop exploring his new and interesting surroundings. The facts of his life were starting to come back to him, and the worry of meeting the murderer of his parents in a week was weighing him down again. He was about to tell Draco that he was ready for bed when he saw a strange light emanating from behind the bush to his right.

"What's that?" He asked curiously, reaching out a hand towards the glow.

Draco looked in the same direction and smiled. "That's your magic."

"My magic?" Harry asked in wonder as a stag lifted it's head from behind the bush.

"Yes," said Draco. "Our magic takes an external form that only wicca are able to see. It helps us know the type of magic that we are good at and the kind of people that we are. Your magic is a stag, which means that you are good at both offensive and defensive magic and that you are a proud and strong person."

Harry hummed in wonder as the brown stag stepped forward slowly and came face to face with him.

"Is this what Narcissa meant about me reacquainting myself with my magic?" He asked.

"Yes," answered Draco. "Your magic is there to protect you, it is almost like an external entity although you are one."

Harry tried to place a hand on the stag's head but his hand went right through it. He sighed in disappointment.

"What does your magic look like?" He asked curiously.

"This," said Draco simply, and Harry's eyes fell upon a white wolf with golden eyes. Although the animals looked like any normal animal, a blue silvery haze surrounded them.

"What does that mean about your magic?" Asked Harry, marvelling at the beautiful lights that their magic was creating.

"It means that my magic is mostly aggressive," commented Draco. "It means that I am a noble and powerful person."

Harry looked on as the wolf stepped closer to the stag and rubbed his head against the stag's side; he felt a strange warmth go through him.

"They can touch each other?" He asked in wonder.

"Yes, just like we can touch each other," said Draco, emphasizing his point by tightening his hold on Harry.

The wolf was large enough to come to the stag's neck, but Harry's magic was still a larger form. As the wolf tried to put its arms around the stag to climb higher and bite down on his neck, the stag simply shook him off; an easy task due to the height advantage. Harry smirked at Draco.

"Yes, I am aware that your magic is more powerful than mine even in raw form," said Draco drily. "Now let's head to bed, it's late and it'll be a long day tomorrow."

Harry nodded and followed Draco without complaint. The stag trotted behind him and its presence made him feel safe and protected; those careful eyes that stayed on him and the nose that sniffed the air for any suspicious activity, were akin to a parent watching its newborn. The wolf followed close by, keeping its eyes on the stag, seemingly confused by its sudden appearance and trying to figure out how to behave around it.

"You never told me about the wolf," said Harry as they got closer to the bedroom.

"You were having a hard enough time believing everything else," said Draco. "Why add an invisible complexity on top of it all?"

Harry sniffed.

"Did I offend you?" Asked Draco, amused.

"This stag, it feels like a big part of me," said Harry, flexing his hands and feeling the buzz of the magic. He felt its correlation to the stag; it was like having another limb. "And you never shared that part of you, that's all."

"Are you actually resentful?" Asked Draco, his amusement growing. Harry heard a short bark from the wolf as it joined in the merriment.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. The stag blew out air through its nose and glared dangerously at the wolf. Draco looked at them with worry and waved a hand, his wolf disappearing.

"How did you do that?" Asked Harry, momentarily forgetting his anger.

"I called my magic back to me," explained Draco. "You can unfurl it and let it explore, to be your eyes and ears, or you can call it back into you. But to call it back in requires control over your magic, which young wicca usually do not have. In this aspect, you are like a wiccan child and have to learn control over your magic before you can do spells or even something as simple as calling your magic to you."

"Why not just let it be?" Asked Harry, who was rather enjoying the presence of his stag.

"Situations like this where your magic mingles with others' magic can be tricky as you never know how they will react to each other. Some also prefer to keep their traits hidden by not showing the form of their magic to other wicca," explained Draco, opening the bedroom door for Harry. "And calling your magic back inside means that your spells will be even stronger."

"I get it," said Harry, nodding, "but why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"You would have learned it from Severus in your lessons eventually," said Draco. "I just thought that we had more pressing matters to address at the time."

"Fine," said Harry, pouting and lying down on the bed.

"You still haven't forgiven me, have you?" Asked Draco, sighing wearily, lying beside Harry.

"No," said Harry, turning to face him. "You have a big white wolf inside you that you can call out at will. That's a pretty big deal."

"But what difference does it make to a bonded? You wouldn't have been able to see or even sense it," said Draco.

"What happens to the wolf when you sleep?" Asked Harry suspiciously.

"It sleeps," said Draco, shrugging.

"What about when you're pretending to be asleep?" Asked Harry.

Draco blushed guiltily.

"I knew it!" Exclaimed Harry, sitting up. "You sent the wolf to watch me when I was in the shower and you in bed, didn't you?"

"N-no," stammered Draco, coughing. "Why would you suggest such a thing?"

"Yes, you did!" Harry shot back. "I can tell that you're lying."

"You can?" Asked Draco, his voice taking on a new note of interest.

"I can," said Harry, frowning. "How come I can tell that you're lying? It's not a suspicion, I know it for a fact that you were just lying."

"Because now that you're a wiccan you can read my body in closer detail," said Draco with a proud smile.

"Don't look so smug," said Harry. "Now you can't lie to me anymore."

"Oh Harry," said Draco, pulling Harry back down and kissing him. "I never lie to you anyway."

"You just did," grumbled Harry, kissing him back.

As their lips touched, a sense of urgency and passion took over Harry. He'd been fighting against Draco, against the bond, for so long that now that he was starting to accept it his feelings came in rash and strong bursts. He let himself go and for once, gave in to the attraction he felt.

So many things had happened recently; he'd just met his dead parents, learned that they were murdered and that their murderer was to visit and would be likely to try and steal the magic that he hadn't even known he had. He'd learned that his professor was the person that his Mother was the real bonded of and that his parents had broken the unspoken wiccan law to marry in spite of it. He'd learned too many things in such a short time and instead of absorbing the hard facts, it was easier to now lose himself in Draco and live in a world of ignorance for a while.

Draco, who had expected Harry to push him away again, stared at him cautiously. Harry shook his head and dragged Draco closer to continue the kissing.

"Harry," started Draco.

"Shut up and kiss me," whispered Harry. Everything still had an otherworldly glow to it, and every time Harry came to contact with Draco, he felt on fire. His new magic was not only making everything look different but also feel different; he saw more, felt more.

Draco smiled and obeyed. The kisses were slow and deep, explorative. It was the first time that Harry was giving in and it felt good to be giving up control for a while. He let Draco take the lead and plant fiery kisses down his neck, melting under the attention. The bond was delighting in this progression, increasing the pleasure he was feeling. He felt Draco's hands reach under his shirt and the cool soft fingers brushed against his skin, making him take a sharp breath.

"Draco," he murmured, gasping for breath.

There was no reply as Draco started nibbling on his neck. He was aware of his shirt being pulled over his head, and Draco's hands returning instantly to his body. He tugged on Draco's shirt, trying to pull it off as well, but Draco pushed his hands away. Harry complied to the silent warning and instead twisted the bed sheet in his hands, giving in to the pleasure. Draco ran his hands against his sides and over his ribs; and soon it all became too much. Harry arched off the bed, moaning for more, shocked at himself, but not finding a shred of desire to stop. This was sweet escape at last, an escape that he hadn't allowed himself for so long. Currently, it was hard to remember why.

And then, Draco's fingers found his nipples and all coherent thought was lost. Nothing mattered except the blissful pleasure he felt as those fingers brushed against his nipples again and again. He was breathing in short jagged breaths by now. It surprised him how comfortable and safe he felt here with Draco, enough to be allowing himself to be reduced to a panting, moaning puddle underneath him.

He was starting to harden when Draco suddenly stopped touching him.

"Why?" He whimpered, feeling the hard blow of disappointment.

"Because I like to remind you that I'm in control," murmured Draco seductively in his ear, biting down on the lobe.

Harry pouted, thinking that this would be the end of it, and so was taken by surprise when Draco's hand reached down and brushed against him. The suggestive touches were more than enough to get him to harden. Draco kept his hand there, looking Harry in the eyes.

"Do you want this?" He asked evenly.

"Yes," breathed Harry.

"Tell me what you want," said Draco softly.

"I want you," confessed Harry. This was going tantalizingly slow, he needed Draco to keep going.

"Want me to what?" Asked Draco, smiling at Harry's tortured expression.

"To touch me," said Harry, biting down on his lip. "Don't make me beg for it, Draco."

"Maybe tomorrow night," said Draco with a devilish smile, rolling off of Harry, landing on his side of the bed.

Harry looked at him in astonishment, feeling the ache of unfulfilled desires. "Why did you stop? I was ready for anything. I thought it's what you've wanted."

"It is," said Draco, looking comfortable on his pillow. "But right now you're drunk on your newly unlocked magic. I'm not going to take advantage of that; just give you a taste of what is to come later."

"Tease," muttered Harry, turning away from him.

Draco wrapped his arms around him and snuggled close with a soft laugh. Harry fell asleep not long after that; it had felt like the longest day of his life. The distraction had worked well enough, he went to sleep with resentment towards Draco and thoughts of what could have happened if they hadn't stopped instead of what his new life would mean. Draco's arm around him seemed to chase away any possible nightmares as well.

Unbeknownst to them both, the bond was wrapping more of its coils around them, covering them in a cocoon of golden light as they slept.


	14. Control

In the morning, Harry lay there mortified, his head spinning. His memories of last night had a dream-like quality about them; it was hard to believe that they had actually happened. He turned to look at Draco's sleeping form beside him and was startled to see the stag and wolf sleeping together on the other side of the bed. He shook Draco awake to point it out to him, too stunned to remember his embarrassment from how he'd acted the night before.

"Weren't they at each other's throats last night?" He asked in hushed tones.

Draco nodded sleepily, smiling. "I think the bond got stronger because of how close we got last night."

"The bond affects our magic?" Asked Harry worriedly.

"Maybe," said Draco, shrugging. "This is a new type of bond and at this point anything is possible."

Harry watched him roll away to go back to sleep and pulled him back towards him.

"What?" Asked Draco, confused.

"Last night," started Harry, and then stopped, as no other words would come.

"Yes?" Asked Draco, eyes shining with amusement.

Harry swallowed and didn't continue. Draco shrugged and turned away to sleep, leaving Harry alone in his self-consciousness. Harry watched as his breathing slowed and became deep before cautiously putting a ginger hand on his shoulder. He felt the tingles travel through his palm all the way down to his toes and yelped when someone burst through the bedroom door, guiltily jerking back his hand.

"Still in bed?" Asked Narcissa incredulously. "We have less than a week until the visit! Up, up!"

Draco groaned in response and pushed Harry towards her. "Take him. I need sleep."

"I'm glad one of us is amused by this situation," retorted Narcissa. "It's no time to joke. Get up, Draco."

"It's better than we thought, Mother," said Draco, turning to look at her with a magnificent smile. "Our magic is merging."

"Merging?" Asked Lucius from behind Narcissa. "Explain."

Draco simply pointed to the stag and wolf who were still wrapped around each other.

"Show me the bond," demanded Narcissa.

Draco waved a hand and the same golden string appeared between him and Harry. Everyone was silent as the golden string multiplied before their eyes, wrapping around Draco and Harry so that they were completely surrounded by it. Draco brought up his hand in wonder, placing it palm to palm against Harry's. The strings around them started glowing with a new intensity; Harry felt the same tingling as before.

"What is going on in here?" Asked Snape, stepping into their room. Draco let his hand fall from Harry's; the intense glowing stopped. "I can feel the surge of magic all the way from my room."

Snape stopped short as his eyes fell upon the golden halo of their bond. Draco waved his hand again, making it disappear.

"Was that your bond?" Snape asked, his eyes wider than normal.

"Don't touch him anymore," commanded Narcissa. "When you touch the magic starts to gather and charge. We don't want to blow up the manor. Harry has to learn how to control his magic, we don't want to go alerting the whole city to any abnormal rises in the level of magic. We have enough problems as it is."

"We were doing quite an amount of touching last night," commented Draco slyly. "And no one blew up."

"I assume that's when the bond started wrapping around you and linked with your magic," said Snape, frowning. "As Narcissa said, no more touching."

"Fine," said Draco, pouting. "Teach him how to control it so I can go back to cuddling."

"Again, am I the only one aware of the fact that He is visiting in a week?" Asked Narcissa in a shrill voice. "Out of bed! We have to start Harry's lessons. The fact that your combined magic has an abnormal strength is not a benefit since it will make Him want to steal it all the more. Teaching Harry to harness the power will also be more difficult now. We can't waste any more of the precious time we have left."

"But how is this even possible?" Asked Harry, who was out of the loop as always. "How can we be sharing magic?"

"Bonds share strength and magic when they settle," explained Lucius. "Because a wiccan is linked to a bonded whose magic is not that strong, the bonded becomes the anchor. When any spells are cast that are too strong and their backlash will be too devastating on the wiccan, this effect is redirected and shared with the bonded so that the wiccan will not be too weakened. If a spell requires more magic than the wiccan has, then the extra magic will be called from the bonded. That is the purpose of bonds, that is why a wiccan will anchor themselves by linking to a bonded. No wiccan-wiccan bond is possible because it will be like linking two positive charges together; there is no anchor in this case."

"Then how are we still bonded?" Asked Harry.

"Because your magic is merging," said Narcissa, sighing. "You are becoming one big positive charge. Since you were bonded before your magic was released, the bond is preserving itself by merging your magic. It would not work towards destroying itself by keeping two repelling charges together, of course. We should have known this would happen."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," said Draco, sounding excited. "With this amount of power, we will surely be able to defeat Him."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," cautioned Snape. "Let's first focus on you defending yourselves. Aggression could be avoided."

Harry snorted. "We're talking about a murderer here. Why are we avoiding aggression, exactly?"

"We discussed this, Harry," said Lucius patiently. "The law will hold us accountable. That is not what a noble family like us wants to be involved in."

"So associating with dark wicca is fine?" Harry asked, getting out of bed. "As long as no harm comes to them? Why doesn't the law come and arrest Voldemort, then?"

Everyone winced at the mention of the name.

"It's not as simple as that," murmured Narcissa. "I can't condemn my sister that way."

Harry looked at the sadness in Narcissa's eyes and went silent. She was right, it wasn't that simple for her. But at the same time, this wasn't her fight. It was his. He wasn't going to bring the authorities down on Voldemort, but he wasn't going to sit there and wait for him to make the first move either.

"I know what you're thinking," said Snape dryly. "But have some respect for the people who are housing you and have been treating you like family. If you attack Him unprovoked, all of us here will be responsible in the eyes of the law; you will be bringing hell down on all of us. I'm not asking you to back away from a fight, I'm telling you not to act recklessly and with stupidity. Killing him in self defence will keep you clear of any charge. The law won't punish you for taking down a dark wiccan in your defence. But your life must really be at risk for that to happen, understand?"

Harry nodded, looking into Snape's eyes. He could see the man's desire to take down Voldemort, a desire that was barely kept on hold. In that moment, he decided to put aside the animosity he felt towards Snape and the link between them and instead use the shared hatred they had and learn everything he could from him within this week.

Finally getting Draco out of bed, Narcissa and Lucius left them with Snape. Harry and Draco followed Snape to the storeroom where they came face to face with a mountain of books piled on the desk in the centre.

"Now, normally I would ask any wiccan to go through all these volumes," said Snape. "However, as we are at a time shortage here, your case will have to be unique."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. His head was spinning just looking at those thick, heavy books.

"Since any lesson will first require you to be able to control your magic, that is what you will practice first," said Snape, sitting down and gesturing for them to sit in front of him. "Because you are linked to Draco and your magic has merged, becoming stronger, this will be harder for you to accomplish. At the same time, because your bond has settled with Draco, it should be easier for you to watch and learn what he does and mimic it."

Harry looked sideways at Draco. "Our bond has settled?"

"Hard to believe you finally gave in to it, huh?" Asked Draco smugly. "It must have felt really good last night."

Harry felt the blood rush to his cheeks and looked away. Snape cleared his throat.

"I expect you to keep things professional in my classroom," he said, glowering at them. "Now, Draco will call his magic to him. You need to watch carefully and sense what he is doing through your bond."

It took them six hours of practice before any improvement was witnessed. Half the stag disappeared, leaving the other half frantically moving on the floor. Harry freaked out, trying to release the magic again, resulting in an outburst of magic which sent a powerful zap through them all.

"Careful," reprimanded Snape, patting down his hair. "No need to panic. You have to trust in your magic."

"When can we eat?" Whined Draco, his stomach growling.

Snape sighed. "I suppose we can take a short break."

Harry was too restless to eat much. He fidgeted through lunch, frustrated at himself for not being able to do a simple first task.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Harry," said Lucius, putting a calming hand on Harry's arm. "These things take years to master and you're trying to do it all in a week. What's more, a wiccan child does not have to control this large magical power that you are attempting to control. You can't expect things to go too fast."

"I'm wasting so much time just learning the first step," said Harry, worried.

"Yes, and after you learn the first step everything else will be so much easier," said Narcissa reassuringly. "It's the first step that is always the hardest."

It was another eight hours before Harry was able to fully call his magic into him. It only lasted two seconds, but the stag fully disappeared for those two seconds. Harry put his head on the table, panting.

"That was great, Harry," said Snape encouragingly. "Now you have to control the magic by containing it inside you. Look at Draco and sense what he's doing through your bond as he contains his magic after calling it to him."

"He looks exhausted," commented Draco, hovering a hand over Harry's back, remembering the command not to touch his bonded. "Can't we take another break?"

"No," growled Harry. "Show me. I need to at least learn control today."

"You can't burn yourself to the ground," argued Draco. "You have to pace yourself or you will never get through a week of this."

"I'm fine," said Harry dangerously. "Show me."

It was midnight by the time Harry learned how to keep his magic contained. At first, he was sure it was a fluke and it would be released after a few minutes, like all the times before. But as the minutes passed by and he still felt his magic fully within him, a tired smile appeared on his face.

"You did it!" Exclaimed Draco, jumping up with pleasure. "I knew you could do it!"

Snape smiled grimly. "Congratulations, you have achieved the first step. Go straight to bed, you need some rest before we continue with the lessons tomorrow. I expect you back here at six."

"In the morning?" Asked Draco, horrified.

"We'll be here," said Harry, getting up to leave.

Draco followed him out, defeated. "This is the worst. I can't touch you, I can't get any sleep, what's next?"

"This is serious, Draco," said Harry, exasperated. "Voldemort will be here in six days."

"I wish you wouldn't say his name," said Draco, cringing. "It carries darkness."

"I don't think it matters at this point," said Harry, shrugging.

"Look, I know He's coming, alright?" Said Draco as they entered the bedroom. "And I also know that you've been gloomy all day. My jokes and whines seem to lessen the wrinkles left by your frown however, so let me do what I'm doing. It's the only thing I can do, considering that the only other way of comforting you, which is through physical contact, has been banned."

Harry looked at him, thoughtful. "Fine. Do what you like."

As they sat on the bed, Harry picked up his phone, his frown deepening.

"Is it your friends?" Asked Draco with concern.

"Just some missed calls," said Harry, throwing his phone back under his pillow.

"Have you thought about what you want to do?" Asked Draco, lying down.

"No," admitted Harry, lying down too while maintaining the space between them. "What do you think I should do?"

"You're asking me?" Asked Draco, looking amazed.

"Just tell me what you think," said Harry, pursing his lips.

"I think it will be dangerous to maintain your friendship," said Draco. "But you have always known what I've thought about you maintaining a link with your past life. Why suddenly worry now?"

"Things are different now," said Harry, looking up at the ceiling, trying to find an answer there. "I'm suddenly a dangerous person to be associated with. I don't want them to get hurt just because I was too selfish to let them go."

"You think He will harm them," said Draco.

Harry nodded. "I can't risk it."

"What do you want to do?" Asked Draco. He corrected himself after the look Harry gave him. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to teach me the memory wipe spell," he said slowly. "I want to erase their memory of me."

"Are you sure?" Asked Draco, looking at him gravely. "There is no going back after a memory erase."

"It's the only way to keep them safe from me," said Harry. "If I tell them to stay away it will just make them interfere more. I can't tell them not to visit next week, they'll want to help as soon as they learn the reason."

"Then let me do it," said Draco. "You shouldn't have to be the one."

"No, I have to do it," said Harry determinedly. "It's only right that I be the one to do it."

"Very well," said Draco. "I'll teach you the spell when it's time."


	15. Memories of a Time Long Gone

Harry sat in front of Ron and Hermione, feeling forlorn. He'd put off this meeting for as long as he could have. Five days had passed; Voldemort was to visit the following day, and his time was up. Severus had crammed as much defensive magic as he could have into him, and Draco had taught him simple spells that were aimed to amuse him and lighten the atmosphere. After he'd learned complete control of his magic, he'd been granted permission to touch Draco again as their magic would not gather and charge when being controlled, and this had also helped relieve his stress when he'd felt imminent panic attacks looming over him.

He brought himself back to the present. The playground that they were at was absurdly normal compared to everything else that was going on. Snow still slightly covered the grounds, but the air was warmer than it had been in a long time. It didn't make Harry miss Draco's presence any less, physical contact with him would have stopped him from feeling even this slight chill.

"Harry?" Asked Hermione uncertainly. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

"Why don't you start with why you've been ignoring our calls?" Asked Ron, sounding hurt.

"I'm sorry, but I needed time to think," said Harry apologetically, moving snow around with the tip of his right shoe. "I decided to meet up and tell you everything."

"But?" Asked Hermione.

"No buts," lied Harry. How did one tell his best friends that he was planning on erasing their memories after finally telling them about everything that was going on? "I've discovered some information over the past week, about myself, my parents, and their death. I will try and explain everything without leaving things out this time."

"Look, if this is what the blond git told you, you can't just believe what he says, okay?" Said Ron energetically.

"It's not just what he told me, Ron," said Harry gravely. "Just listen to the story first and try to be as unbiased as possible."

Harry then went on to tell them everything that had taken place after they left, this time leaving nothing out. He got some expected gasps when he revealed that his Professor was supposed to have been bonded to his Mother, and Ron paled when he was describing the events of the seance. They were both equally shocked to learn of Harry's locked magic, and Hermione listened attentively with bright eyes as Harry explained how the release of his magic had happened. They both looked at him disbelievingly when he described the presence of the stag and wolf, and tried to look around as if they would be able to see it. He mostly skipped over his lessons with Snape; only at the end did he take a deep breath and tell them about Voldemort.

There was a few minutes of silence after that, followed by shocked questions from Ron and Hermione, which Harry did his best to answer. Then he told them of the visit that would take place the day after, and the possibility of Voldemort's desires to steal his magic. By the end, it felt so good to have finally gotten it off his chest that he breathed out a sigh of relief, letting his friends worry on his behalf.

"Why are you staying at the manor if you know he's coming to visit?" Asked Hermione nervously.

"You know you can always stay at ours for a while if you need to," said Ron, looking equally worried. "Even if Draco has to come with you."

"No, I have to face him," said Harry resolutely. "I can't run away, not from this."

"It's not running away, it's being sensible," objected Hermione, looking stern. "If he has drained many wicca to grow strong, then he must be a hundred times stronger than you will ever be. Are you looking for a death sentence?"

"You don't understand," said Harry stubbornly. "I have to do this. I won't be alone, the Malfoys and Snape will be there to protect me. This fight has to come to pass, and I intend to make sure I come out on top."

"You're being rash," said Hermione in a pleading voice. "You've only had a week of training, you can't possibly hope to win this."

"You don't know my strength," said Harry, clenching his fist, calling forth the rush of power. "I'm filled with a hungry magic that shapes around my needs. I believe in the magic, and in the strength I have."

"Well if you're recklessly rushing to your death, you can be sure that we'll be right there with you," said Ron angrily.

"What can you possibly do?" Asked Harry, blinking. "You have no magic."

"And maybe that's the point," said Hermione, standing tall next to Ron. "Maybe no one has been able to defeat him because they all tried to defeat him with magic. You can't stop us from coming and fighting this battle with you."

"Actually, I can," said Harry, sighing. Somewhere deep inside, he'd still hoped that it wouldn't come to this.

"You're going to put a banishing spell on us again?" Asked Ron, red to the tips of his ears. "We're supposed to be your friends!"

"No, I'm going to remove myself from your memories," said Harry sadly.

"What?" Deadpanned Hermione. "You can't be serious."

"Our friendship will bring you nothing but pain. We are too different, we live in different worlds. You will always want to be there and help me, but you will always fall short and resent me for putting a distance between us," mumbled Harry.

"This is insane," said Ron. "If you want us not to show up that badly, fine. No need to go to such extremes."

"Don't do this," whispered Hermione, mortified.

"I know you will do anything to show up, even if you say you won't," said Harry, sighing. "Even if I put a banishing spell on you, your minds and heart will be filled with it, and I will not be able to let you go either. You have to see that it will just bring more pain and misery for us all. I have to sever our bond or constantly worry about you coming to harm because of me."

"Don't do this, Harry," repeated Hermione, backing away.

Ron took a step forwards, and Harry waved his hand, tears in his eyes. Both stopped mid motion; the whole world froze around him. He waved his hand again, and a silvery tangle of connected lines appeared on top of each of his friends' heads. He blew over it and golden dots appeared all over the silver lines, which were the chain of their memories. Carefully, making sure not to disturb anything else, Harry picked out each and every golden dot, which represented his own presence in their memory. After the golden dots were removed, the silvery lines connected seamlessly, covering the place that had previously been occupied by the golden dots. In the absence of significant memories, the mind made up some logical way to explain the gap, Draco had told him.

He stood there, observing his work after he was done, feeling hollow on the inside. In the years he'd spent living in their world, the only thing he'd cherished had been their friendship. They had been his family, always there for him when no one else was. It was impossibly hard to be erasing himself, he almost wanted to erase them from his own memory as well. But their time together was too precious to simply banish, he would carry the memories with him, as well as the pain and loneliness that would be associated with them from now on. He took a few steps back, moving to the sidewalk, telling himself again that he was doing what was best for them. He waved his hand again, letting time resume.

Ron and Hermione blinked slowly for a few seconds, looking at their surroundings. Their eyes lingered on the space where Harry had stood talking to them only a second ago, confusion evident. Then their gaze fell on Harry, but there was no recognition there. They looked at each other, and Hermione said, "You were saying something?" and their conversation started to flow, as if nothing had happened. And to them, nothing had happened. Harry stood watching for a few more seconds, and then started walking back to the manor, hands in his pockets, tears falling helplessly from his eyes.

Night had fallen by the time he got back. He stood still and let Draco hug him without saying anything. Draco knew better than to ask anything, and they spent the rest of the night with Snape going over every possible scenario that would take place the next day. Harry tried to detach himself from what he'd done, he tried to prioritize and listen to Snape and Draco going over their plans, but by now he'd heard them so many times that it was hard to concentrate on them and in his mind he was in the playground, on the sidewalk, being looked at by his best friends in the entire world as if he was a stranger. He played that moment over and over again, until he finally couldn't take it, and got up to go to bed.

That night he slept in short fits of restlessness, a mixture of anxiety about tomorrow and regret about the earlier events of the day haunting him throughout. He called out his magic and watched as the stag tried to cheer him up by pulling different stunts, but he was painfully aware that his phone would never ring again with his friends waiting on the other end for him, and that now if he lost Draco he had no one else left in the world who gave a damn about him.

He kept seeing Hermione's horrified face change into that expressionless face that didn't recognize who he was anymore. He looked at Draco's sleeping body, feeling resentful. How could he sleep knowing what was to come tomorrow and what had transpired today?

"I'm not asleep, you idiot," said Draco's patronizing voice. Harry couldn't keep a small smile from escaping. "I can feel your resentment filling up the room. I was being quiet to let you get some sleep."

"How do you expect me to sleep?" Asked Harry, sounding harsher than he meant to. "I just lost my best friends."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asked Draco tentatively.

Harry was silent for a while. "I never thought that I would lose them. I thought we were the sort of friends to grow old together, our children growing up friends, going to the same schools. That's what I always saw us as, and now that will never happen."

Draco didn't say anything, pulling Harry closer.

"You should have seen the look on their faces, Draco," said Harry, shaking slightly. "They didn't know who I was anymore."

"That means you did your job well," murmured Draco.

"That's not something I want to hear right now," stated Harry, trying to pull away. "I almost wish that I had left some trace of myself somewhere, just a harmless meeting, something, anything, to know that they still would have had some notion of my existence."

Draco tightened his hold, not letting Harry pull away. "I know, I know."

"No, you don't know," said Harry roughly, his voice laced with pain. "You don't know what it feels like to have so many fond memories of people you love and know that you're the only one who remembers. We spent so many days together, went through so many things together. And now none of it matters, it's as if none of it ever happened."

"I wish it was reversible, so that after this you could let them remember again," said Draco helplessly, not knowing how to console him.

"Even then it would still be too dangerous to involve them in this life," said Harry, tears streaming down his face again. He felt absolutely miserable and helpless.

"The memories you shared don't lose their significance just because you're the only one who remembers them," said Draco softly, holding Harry close. "In fact, they become even more precious because of that. You now have the important task of remembering for the three of you."

"I feel so alone, so abandoned," said Harry, hiccuping. "I feel like I don't have anyone anymore."

"You will always have me," said Draco with certainty, rubbing soothing circles on Harry's arm.

"What if Voldemort breaks our bond and steals my magic?" Whispered Harry, closing his eyes against the harsh possibility.

"You will still have me," assured Draco. "Nothing will ever stop me from being with you."

It was in Draco's hold, with both of them sticky and wet with Harry's tears, that he finally fell asleep.


	16. Irreparable

Harry stood behind the door, clenching and unclenching his hands. Draco had already gone in, and he was starting to feel the need to follow the further that Draco got. He could almost hear His voice, Voldemort's voice, since everything else was eerily quiet. He wondered again if this hadn't been a grand mistake. Was he walking to his death, as Ron and Hermione had suggested?

No, I have to face him, he told himself. This man who took my life from me, who so cruelly took my parents from me.

It was hard not to imagine how completely different his life would have been if the murder had never happened. He shook himself, bracing to step into the room. He had erased his friends' memories, there was no going back now. He had to face Voldemort and hope that he was strong enough to stand his ground.

He knew that there was no way around this. Snape had told him that it would take half an hour at most for the bond to erode once Voldemort started breaking it down, and that didn't leave him with too much time to build up a good defence or offence. He couldn't afford to lose his nerve.

He remembered asking Snape the day before how Voldemort planned on bonding to him if they had no love or fate linking them together. Snape had looked at him sadly, saying that the scar he'd left on Harry linked them together magically and that was enough for a bond to form. It had made him feel even more revolted.

His heart beating rapidly, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. The conversation immediately stopped as his eyes locked with the red eyes of Voldemort.

"Is this the new bonded of Draco's I've been hearing so much about in Cissa's calls?" Asked the woman who must have been Bellatrix, sounding delighted.

Harry knew the exact moment when Voldemort recognized who he was. The red eyes widened, something like a maddening glee appearing in them.

"Well, well, well," he said silkily. "If it isn't Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Asked Bellatrix, leaning forward in her chair. "What a small world! Did you not kill his parents and vow to steal his magic and kill him in time, my love?"

"I did," confessed Voldemort. "And he made it all the easier by appearing right in front of me."

Harry gasped as a sharp pain stabbed his forehead. He squeezed his eye shut, placing a hand over his scar.

"I left that scar, didn't I?" Asked Voldemort, overjoyed. "Is it hurting?"

"Yes," bit out Harry. "What are you doing to me?"

"It's most curious," said Voldemort, ignoring his question. "You were born a wiccan, so how could you be Draco's bonded? If you are the bonded, why do I feel such magical power rolling off of you?"

"A wiccan-wiccan bond?" Asked Bellatrix, her voice annoyingly screechy. "Is that even possible?"

"This is the best present you could have given me, Malfoy," said Voldemort, looking at Lucius exuberantly.

Harry fell to his knees, the pain in his forehead making his vision go dark.

"What are you doing to him?" He heard the faraway voice of Draco asking.

"I'm eroding your bond, of course," said Voldemort. "I can't very well bond myself to him and drain his magic if he's bonded to you, now can I?"

"Don't you dare!" Harry heard Draco shout.

"You are going too far," said Snape.

He forced his eyes to focus, trying to clear his vision. Draco was standing in front of him, trying to block Voldemort's path. Harry tried to call his magic to protect him, but the pain in his forehead was too great. He was surprised to see Voldemort stop in his tracks.

"You're right, I shouldn't act so rudely," said Voldemort, tapping a finger against his chin. Harry immediately felt the pain lessen, although it did not disappear completely. "I should first hear how you achieved a wiccan-wiccan bond before abruptly breaking it up."

"Bellatrix, please," Harry heard Narcissa say. "You have to stop him."

"We need some privacy," said Voldemort, annoyed.

He waved his hand and a shield appeared around him and Harry. Draco was forced out of the shield, but Bellatrix remained inside it. The others were all trapped outside; not even their voices reached them anymore.

Harry felt his heartbeat pick up. He watched as Draco, Narcissa, and Snape tried to bring down the shield, but it was holding up against their individual and combined efforts. This was not part of any scenarios that they had dreamed up, he'd thought that it would take Voldemort longer to recognize him. He'd not anticipated an unbreakable shield, he'd thought that he'd have more time to prepare. Worst of all, he had not anticipated a pain in his forehead incapacitating him. It was happening too fast; they had underestimated Voldemort.

He felt like slapping himself. He couldn't give up now. He'd counted on his magic being strong enough, and he'd have to go on believing. Maybe this was better, it was his fight anyway. Now no matter what, no one could blame anyone except him for what happened here after this.

He stood back up. The scar on his forehead still throbbed, a reminder of Voldemort slowly eroding their bond. Snape had told him to bring out his magic, he had no chance fighting Voldemort with his full strength. The hope was that after Harry's stag appeared, Voldemort would be aggravated into calling out his magic as well, dividing his magical strength. Of course, fighting half of Voldemort's strength with half of his own strength didn't change matters, so the plan was to distract Voldemort and catch him off guard.

Harry took a deep breath, and called out his magic. Voldemort let out a merry laugh when the stag appeared before him.

"Do you actually think that you stand a chance against me?" He roared, his magic appearing in the form of a giant snake, with green scales and yellow eyes. It bared its fangs at Harry's stag, looking like it could swallow it whole. "Fool! I have drained hundreds of wicca of their magic! No one is strong enough to defeat me now!"

"You murdered my parents," said Harry, his voice barely under control. The plan had worked, even though he couldn't count on anyone else's help because of the unforeseen shield. "It doesn't matter how much power you have. I will avenge them."

"It's a shame that they had to die," said Voldemort, sounding almost wistful. "With this amount of power, are you sure you don't want to join me?"

"What?" Asked Harry, incredulous.

"It's so much more fun than being a goody two-shoes," said Bellatrix, giggling.

"Are you daft? Why would I join you?" Asked Harry, slowly calling up his shields, using the time that the conversation was buying him.

"Because you know how it feels, don't you?" Asked Voldemort, stepping closer, his eyes gleaming. "You know how good the magic feels. After you get used to it it's normal, but the moment you obtain it, for a while, everything intensifies, becomes clearer. It's a feeling one can get addicted to."

"Why would I know how that feels?" Harry spat out, trying to buy more time.

He could feel the bond dissipating, and the weaker that his connection to Draco grew, the weaker his magic got, because he was not able to control the shared magic as well anymore. He had to put up his shields and attack soon.

"Because your Mother shielded your magic when she died, so that I wouldn't be able to steal your magic," said Voldemort, sounding detached. "It was strong, strong enough that I couldn't unlock it at the time. That's how you were able to bond to Draco, is that not the case? You bonded to him before realizing that you held magic within you. The collective power of everyone here was enough to unlock that magic, I'm guessing very recently. A couple of weeks? So you know that rush, the high that you feel after new magic flows in your veins."

"You're sick," said Harry, trying hard to keep himself from attacking right then and there. "My Mother didn't die, she was murdered. By you. I would never become what you are, I would never crave a high from draining people's magic."

"That sounds like a challenge," said Bellatrix, rubbing her hands together. "How about we inject more magic into him? Turn him into a junkie?"

Voldemort turned to look at her, his eyes hard. "So he can use that magic against me? Are you an idiot? Or just plotting against me?"

"Of course not," said Bellatrix, taking a cautious step back. "I wasn't thinking."

"Clearly," said Voldemort, turning back to Harry. "You've lost my interest. This is where it will end."

Before his snake could launch itself, Harry's stag rammed it's antlers into it's body with the strength that Harry had been gathering. For a moment, He thought he'd be able to pierce through the snake, to fight his way tooth and nail and rip Voldemort's magic apart. But then, the pain in his forehead exploded, and he heard a scream escape his mouth as he lost his vision and balance.

His shield fell through in pieces around him.

"W-what?" He gasped out, trying to gather his strength, but the stabbing pain in his head made all coherent thought impossible.

"You were buying time gathering strength," said Voldemort, standing over him. "But I was buying time, corroding your bond."

Harry was aware of a foot connecting to his stomach, but he didn't feel the pain, still blinded by the excruciating pain in his head.

"Open your eyes and watch as the last strands holding you two together disappear," said Voldemort viciously, holding up Harry's head.

Through his muddled vision, Harry could barely see the glow of the golden string connecting Draco and him. It looked thinner, as if stretched out. In the middle, the strands were straining to reconnect, but they were snapping off one by one, a vicious black fog eating through them. Harry moaned as the last string snapped and the golden glow disappeared from his vision all together. He felt himself go limp, as if his very lifeline was cut off. The pain in his forehead started to disappear now that the corroding force wasn't eating through him anymore.

He tried to call his magic to him, to finally attack with full force now that the pain was disappearing, but the snake was wrapped around his stag, impossibly not letting Harry call it back into him.

"Now watch as I bind myself to you and drain your magic, your pathetic friends and previous bonded helpless on the other side of the shield," said Voldemort, laughing coldly.

Harry heard the words, but did not bother to comprehend their meaning. He felt utterly hopeless. He was cut off from Draco, his own magic trapped outside his body, the little magic left inside not strong enough to put up any shields. And yet, he kept on fighting, kept on trying to shield himself, to push Voldemort away, but it was all to no avail.

"You should have accepted the offer to join me, boy," said Voldemort without emotion, his eyes boring into Harry's. Harry looked back at him with hatred, feeling too weak to form any sort of reply. "You think we're a bunch of junkies, don't you? I will punish you for that."

As the seconds passed by, Harry felt more and more detached. He'd come into this fight thinking he had nothing left to lose, thinking that losing Ron and Hermione was the worst thing that could have happened to him. And yet, here he lay, watching Draco's anguished body curled on the ground on the other side of the shield, a hand stretched out to him, and all he could do was feel the strange emptiness that gnawed inside him, making it impossible for him to focus on anything else.

He felt his own hand reach out to Draco, the one constant companion that he had come to love, one that had been ripped away from him.

"Take the magic, I don't care," he breathed out with his last strength, letting his eyes fall shut.

"Giving up?" Asked Voldemort, disgust in his voice. "You spoke of avenging your parents, of being powerful enough to defeat me. Now look at you, you're pathetic."

Harry lay there, unmoving, awaiting his death. It had all gone so horribly wrong. He had been too arrogant, the rush of power had intoxicated him, making him believe the impossible possible. Now he would pay the price with his life.

"I won't kill you," said Voldemort, leaning over Harry and whispering in his ear. "I'll let you live with the shame, and the knowledge that you lost the one opportunity that you had to avenge your parents."

He felt the magic leaving his body. He opened his eyes and locked eyes with his stag, who looked at him with sorrow from the snake's hold, as it slowly faded into nothing. He listened to the crazed giggle of Voldemort as the magic was absorbed by him, and still felt nothing but the chafing of the emptiness within him. He let his eyes fall shut, not aware of Draco crawling towards him now that Voldemort had let down the shield, lost in enjoyment, until tentative fingers brushed against his skin. He felt tears leaving his eyes. The bond was really gone. He had no sense of Draco's presence. He hardly cared about the magic, after all, he'd only gained it the week before. But now that it too was gone, leaving him without a trace of magic, he could never be a bonded again. He could never hope for their bond being fixed, he could never feel whole again.

He heard Draco's broken gasps, felt those once familiar hands clutch onto him, but this time it wasn't fighting the cold away. He felt broken, useless. He was tired of watching everything he loved get ripped apart from him. He felt his resolve push some strength back into his body. He brought his hands under him, curled his feet, and shakily pushed himself off the ground, letting Draco's hands fall limply onto the floor. The world swam around him, but his vision locked onto Voldemort's body, standing a few feet away, holding a hand to the light streaming through the window, watching his fingers with a childish amazement and glee. He watched Narcissa beating pointlessly on Bellatrix's chest, screaming obscenities, Snape and Lucius trying to hold her back, and knew that this was his only chance to catch them unawares.

He'd lost everything, yes, but if he was going down, he was going to take them with him.

He picked up the letter opener that had been left on the fireplace behind him, and stumbled in Voldemort's direction. He didn't look back at Draco's lifeless form, keeping his eyes on Voldemort's midsection. The closer he got, the surer he was that Voldemort would sense him, that Bellatrix would notice, that somehow this plan would also fail. But Bellatrix was lost in her amusement with her sister's tactics, and Voldemort was drunk on the power he'd absorbed. Another step, and then another, and Harry was upon Voldemort. He saw confusion appear amidst those red orbs as they registered his presence, and didn't hesitate in driving the letter opener into Voldemort's body. They fell down, a tangle of limbs, and Harry somehow found the strength to pull out and stab him over and over, screaming madly.

"You took everything from me!" He screamed hoarsely, feeling hands struggling to pry him off the dead body underneath him.

"You ruined everything," he whispered, curling into a ball on the floor after the hands finally pulled him off, and then he knew no more.


	17. Repercussions

Everything was a warm red behind his closed lids, but there was the coldness of a thousands avalanches burying him that no warmth could fight away. He had a sense of an absence, but everything was fuzzy. His head hurt, and it worsened whenever he tried to move it, but there was a pain greater than that, one that he couldn't recall the reason of because everything was just out of his reach.

He knew that all he had to do was wake up and Draco would make it go away.

It took a lot of struggling before he could bring himself out of the half-asleep daze to open his eyes. The light invaded his vision and spiked his headache, but by now he was starting to remember bits and pieces of what had happened, and it was enough to keep him fighting for consciousness.

"He's awake," he heard a hushed voice utter and his gaze fell upon Narcissa.

She was sitting on a chair on his far left, which brought another form into his vision. Draco was sleeping on a bed, no, a gurney, next to his. He gasped and tried to sit up, but a quick hand held him down. He groaned and his headache intensified from the sudden movement, but at least he remembered now. He knew what the source of the pain and emptiness was.

He knew that not even Draco could make it go away anymore.

He looked at Lucius whose hand had cautioned him back down, and bit out, "What happened?"

"If he's awake, maybe Draco will wake soon too," he heard Narcissa's voice murmur.

Lucius looked at her sadly, and then turned back to Harry. "We can talk later, Harry. You need your rest now."

"Tell me," said Harry, raising his hand to grab Lucius's, his eyes harder than they had ever been, a hardness that would from now on be a permanent fixture.

Lucius sighed. "Very well. What is the last thing you remember?"

"Stabbing that bastard," said Harry, an involuntary shiver going through him.

"I'm sorry, Harry," said Lucius sadly. "He's dead."

"I killed him," said Harry, eyes wide. He felt an odd detachment. Maybe it just hadn't registered that he had murdered a human being, killer or no.

"No one should have to know how that feels, and definitely not one so young," said Lucius, holding onto Harry's hand gently.

"What about the law?" Asked Harry, not comfortable with the subject any longer. "You said that they would rush in here if a murder was to happen."

"Yes, one that was committed with magical means," said Lucius warily. "But you stabbed him with a letter opener. Hardly a burst of magic there. Any previous bursts of magic that happened did so within the shield that Voldemort had brought up and so they were blocked from being sensed."

"So no one was alerted?" Asked Harry, feeling a guilty relief. He also noticed that Lucius was saying Voldemort's name now that the threat was gone.

"No," said Lucius. "But that doesn't mean we didn't report it."

"What?" Asked Harry, trying to sit up again.

"Calm down, Harry," said Lucius, hand firm on Harry's chest, keeping him from hurried movements. "We reported it as self-defence. It was impossible to believe, of course, because of the amount of times you stabbed him, but the authorities were happy enough that the leader of the dark wicca was brought down that they chose to believe the story, no questions asked."

"What about Bellatrix?" Asked Harry, hostility clear in his voice.

"I'm afraid she was driven mad after watching her beloved stabbed to death in front of her eyes," said Lucius, looking at Narcissa cautiously, his voice soft.

"We had to send her to a psychiatric hospital," said Narcissa, her voice cold but her eyes melancholic.

"What, what about Draco?" Asked Harry. He'd been dreading this question, as it made the least sense. "Why is he in a gurney? Are we in a hospital?"

"No, you're in the manor. We had gurneys brought in for the two of you," said Lucius.

Harry realized that Lucius had avoided his question and repeated himself, "But why is Draco in a gurney?"

"No one anticipated that Voldemort would sever your bond so abruptly," started Lucius, for the first time breaking his eye contact with Harry. "Least of all Draco. Voldemort snapped it off in the last instant instead of continuing to erode through it slowly, and the shock to Draco's system was too great. He passed out on the ground and simply didn't wake up again."

"What do you mean?" Asked Harry, hysteria at the edge of his voice.

"He's in a coma," said Narcissa, hugging herself. "My Son is in a coma."

"But he'll wake up, right?" Asked Harry, looking between Narcissa and Lucius.

"It's not," started Lucius, looking at Draco, desolate. "It's not very likely."

Harry heard Narcissa break down, but his eyes were locked on Draco. "You can't know that."

"I can't, but Narcissa does, as a wiccan," said Lucius, moving away from Harry to hold Narcissa. "She can read his life energy, and it is in suspension, with no sign of recovery."

"No," said Harry adamantly. "He'll wake up. He has to."

He tried to sit up again, to go to Draco, to shake some sense into him, to make him wake up. Before he was able to, Narcissa came over and touched a finger to his forehead, putting him back to sleep. The last words that he heard were, 'rest for now'.

He wasn't aware of how much time was passing; he was sometimes not even aware of being unconscious. But at other times, when he teetered on the edge of waking up, he was aware of everything that had happened, and it was torturous to know that Draco was right next to him and yet completely out of his reach.

It was worse when he had dreams in which he forgot that Draco was lost to him. The dream would leave him in a happier place, but he'd soon be almost awake and realize that it had all been a dream, that Draco was still in a coma, that their bond was still irreparable, that he had come to appreciate him too late and now he would not get to have him again.

When he finally woke up, he opened his eyes to a dark night, a small table light casting long shadows around the room. He could see Narcissa asleep on the chair, but Lucius was nowhere to be seen. He stretched his left hand, surprised by how much stronger he felt, and touched Draco's right hand. The distance between their gurneys was large enough that he could barely touch the back of Draco's hand with the tips of his fingers, and so he slowly sat up to move closer. He noticed right away that his headache had disappeared.

He cautiously moved to Draco's gurney, trying not to wake Narcissa, and looked down on Draco's sleeping form. He didn't look disturbed, but he didn't look peaceful either. His face was completely expressionless, his body completely still, except for his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. It looked as if all his energy had been drained, and that made him look like a completely different person. Harry knew Draco as someone who was always planning something, someone always in motion, always ready to ambush him with one plan or another. Yet here he lay, and any possible future that they may have had was gone with him.

Harry placed his hand on Draco's arm, which was colder than he remembered it to be. Three weeks ago, he never would have thought that he'd still be here when the bond was severed and Draco separated from him. In fact, it had been the very thing he had wished for. It was hard to believe that it had just been three weeks, that in three weeks Draco had been able to win him completely over, to change his life so absolutely, that he now stood here in mourning of what they had had, trying to force it back into what it had been.

"You have to wake up, Draco," he whispered, unable to stop tears from forming. "Wake up for me. Please, wake up for me."

He felt an irrational anger as Draco still lay there, oblivious to his presence. This wiccan had showed up in the middle of a cold night and attached himself to him, forcing Harry to leave his life and come live his, ambushing him in the shower, invading all sense of privacy, and making Harry fall for him. How dare he leave him now? Now that he actually wanted him here, needed him here, he had abandoned him.

Who else did he have left? The Ron and Hermione that would have once taken him back in a heartbeat were now lost to him, and the one that was supposed to be his companion for life lay here lifeless. He couldn't expect Narcissa and Lucius to house him here now. He had no magic, and he was no longer bonded to their Son. In fact, he was a painful reminder of why they had lost their Son.

But the last thing he wanted to do was leave. What if Draco were to wake up one day? What if Narcissa's predictions proved false? Bond or no, he wanted to be here, with Draco. He would give anything to have Draco back, even though it seemed that he was out of things to sacrifice.

He squeezed himself next to Draco on the gurney and fell asleep holding onto him, his tears making a wet mess of the pillow.

He woke the next day to Narcissa's voice and gentle hands shaking him awake. The first thing he saw was Draco's unchanged face, and it was hard to keep himself from breaking down again.

"Harry," Narcissa called again, her voice gentle.

He sat up slowly, taking in the brightly lit room. Narcissa's sad eyes looked back at him, and he knew that at least he wasn't alone in his sorrow.

"He should have been the one to wake up, not me," he whispered his convictions, looking down.

"No, both of you should have woken up, and maybe in time, he'll wake too," said Narcissa, looking forcefully optimistic. "Now, I think you and I should both eat something. You have been receiving nutritions through your bloodstream while you slept these past few days with Severus's help, and I think solid food will do you some good."

Harry stood up and nodded, ashamed that she had the strength to go on when he didn't. He followed her to the kitchen and they ate a light breakfast. He was thankful that they hadn't gone to the dining area, he couldn't bear to sit and stare at Draco's empty seat, a chair that would perhaps always remain empty. It was too hard to believe that Draco would never wake up, it was easier to listen to Narcissa talk about all the times that people had miraculously come out of comas, and believe that Draco would have the strength to pull through as well. After all, it was harder to believe that Draco would leave him here alone.

He spent the rest of the day with Draco, touching him here and there, brushing back his hair, talking to him softly, willing him to notice his presence and wake up. By evening, however, Lucius came to force him and Narcissa out of the room.

"You've been at his side constantly," he said. "You need a break, some fresh air, anything. I'll stay with him. You two are to leave and not come back for at least two hours."

At their complaints, his eyes flashed dangerously. "Three hours. You're to stay out of this room for three hours, and that's final."

Harry frowned, crossed his arms over his chest and scared of a higher penalty, left the room, his feet carrying him to the back garden. He was aware of Narcissa following him part of the way but leaving his side to enter the library, and was almost sad at her departure. She seemed to know the pain he felt best, but he felt that he needed the fresh air that Lucius had suggested more than her company at the present, and was also afraid of imposing too much on her. She had her own grief and pain to deal with, as well.

As he entered the garden and breathed in the fresh crisp air, the unfairness of it all hit him once more. This was where they had unleashed his magic. If they hadn't, maybe Voldemort wouldn't have cared about stealing the little magic he'd felt within him, or he wouldn't have known how to put up a fight and their bond wouldn't have been crushed in this way, and Draco would be fine right now.

He let his feet carry him to where the ceremony had taken place in front of the white oak tree. When he arrived at the spot, he frowned, looking around in confusion. The ancient tree was not there.

"You can't see the white tree anymore, can you?" Asked Snape, coming out of the shadows.

"No," said Harry, startled. "Why can't I?"

"Because each bonded and wiccan have their tree that they can see," said Snape softly.

"And I'm not a bonded anymore," finished Harry coldly. "So I can't see it anymore."

"Yes," said Snape, nodding slowly.

Harry slumped down against the tree next to where the white oak had been, breathing out in frustration.

"I was just starting to enjoy the bond. I was starting to really like Draco. I was starting to like living here. Of course it all gets taken away from me. I can't even go back to my old life, I can't go back to living with my uncle when the only thing I liked about living there was my friends, which I no longer have," he said, looking at the blades of grass.

He wasn't sure why he was confiding in Snape of all people, but he couldn't start vocalizing his fears about his situation to Narcissa and Lucius who had the right to be worried about Draco's well being right now and not Harry's who was awake and healed.

"So you went through with erasing their memories?" Asked Snape, moving to sit beside Harry.

"Yes, which was a mistake," he said, shifting around, surprised at Snape acting kind.

"Why was it a mistake?" Asked Snape gently, leaning back against the tree. "It kept them from harm's way, as you intended."

"But now there will be no more harm, because I have no magic," said Harry, swallowing hard, finding it hard to admit it out loud. "And I'm not bonded to a wiccan anymore. I need them right now, but I can't rely on their presence ever again."

"There is a way for you to have magic again," said Snape quietly.

"And what has it gotten me?" Asked Harry angrily. "I killed a man and Draco's in a coma because of it. I don't want any blasted magic."

"No, I don't mean enough magic to be a wiccan again," said Snape, looking at Harry seriously. "But just little enough to be able to be a bonded again. If you have enough magic for that, your bond with Draco can be mended."

"But what is the point if Draco is in a coma?" Asked Harry, running his fingers through his hair.

"If you are his bonded, you can enter through his dreams and get him to wake up," said Snape, watching Harry closely.

"What? How?" Asked Harry. "I'm sure that he wants to wake up, if he is even conscious, but is unable to. How can I make any difference?"

"No, he may not necessarily be aware of being unconscious in a coma. I don't know how a mind works in a coma, but he is remaining suspended not because of any injury done to his body or mind, but because of how great the shock of abruptly losing the bond was," said Snape. "Theoretically, by entering his subconscious mind through his dreams, you should be able to make him wake up."

"Is that really possible?" Asked Harry, looking hopeful in spite of himself. It did sound too good to be true, after all. He'd learned to look forward to bleakness and things always going wrong from the way things were turning out lately. "After all, we thought my defeating Voldemort was possible, and look how that turned out."

"Like I said, it is theoretically possible, and you did defeat Voldemort," said Snape, looking grave. "The price that you paid for it was great, but you did defeat him in the end."

"I suppose that's true," said Harry dryly. "Fine. Of course, I'll try anything to bring him back. But how do I bond myself to him?"

"You don't have to. Once you have enough magic, the bond will repair itself," said Snape, looking eager but cautious.

"And if it doesn't work? If he stays in a coma? How will I be bonded to someone in a coma? I can't leave his vicinity, I'll have to stay where he's staying," said Harry, wary.

"You have to understand, this is our last resort," said Snape. "If even you cannot wake him from his coma, Draco is not retrievable. I don't imagine that Narcissa will keep him suspended for too long after that."

"You mean she'll kill him?" Asked Harry, feeling an almost physical blow. He could feel his heart clench inside his chest. Although Draco was in a coma, he was still here. Losing him for sure; it was too hard to try and imagine a world without Draco, now that he'd come to know a world so closely entwined with him. It was in fact hard to remember how he'd managed his life without Draco before he had come along to whisk him away into his.

"No, she'll let him continue on to the next step," said Snape gently. "Right now he is stuck in his head, not living, but not dead either. That is not how life is supposed to be lived."

"And if I refuse to try? If I want to wait it out and see if his wakes?" Asked Harry, finding the concept of failing and losing Draco for good too bleak.

"I imagine it won't be long until she gives up hope and lets him move on," said Snape, his hand moving as if to console Harry, but then falling back down.

"Fine," said Harry, feeling an impossibility after the next thrown at him. Everything was happening too fast, but he had to hold on to what he knew, and he knew that he didn't want to live without Draco. "I'll do it. How do I get the damned magic back?"

"I'll donate some of my magic to you," said Snape.

"I didn't know donation of magic was possible," said Harry, turning to look at Snape.

"It's not, except in one case. I can do it through our bond, as your parent," said Snape, looking away.

Harry stared at him. His Father had stolen this man's bonded and married her, conceiving him, and through that illegal bonding had attracted Voldemort's attention which had gotten them both killed. In short, he nor his parents had ever done anything kind for Snape. Yet here he was, offering to donate some of his magic to Harry.

"Why would you do that?" He asked, unable to stop the question, as grateful as he felt for the chance to try and bring Draco back.

"Because I know what it feels like to lose your bonded," said Snape, standing up to leave. "Meet me tomorrow at noon in the storeroom."

Harry stared as his old Professor left, and for the first time noticed that all the snow had disappeared, and new flowers were blooming now that the cold had gone.


	18. Once a Bonded, Always a Bonded

Harry stood in the storeroom, in front of the shelf that housed the jar with ashes; the jar that Draco had used for their bonding ritual. The last time he'd seen it, flowers were starting to bloom, indicating their progress with accepting the bond. Now, he stood staring at a pile of ashes, no flowers or stems to be seen. It made everything more real if that was even possible.

He remembered Draco telling him that the flowers were heliotrope, sign of eternal love. What were the ashes a sign of, if not the loss of everything he'd learned to hold dear? Was his revenge worth all this? Now that it had time to register, the fact that he had killed a man, it was harder to look at himself in the mirror. He felt repulsed. At the time, it had felt his only option. Meeting Voldemort and taking revenge, it had seemed so important.

But killing him had cost him a big chunk of himself. He had killed something inside him to be able to drive that letter opener through a person. The innocence in him was gone. He didn't believe that he deserved anything but the hard life and pain that he was facing now. Draco didn't deserve to suffer because of his actions, however. He had to save Draco, no matter what it cost him. It was his only chance at redemption.

He turned towards the door, expecting Snape, but it had been Lucius who'd just entered. Harry looked at him quizzically.

"Severus told us what he plans on doing," said Lucius, coming to stand besides Harry. "I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into."

"I have to do this," said Harry. "For Draco."

"I know it feels like you have to do it, but I'm not here to talk about what you think is necessary," said Lucius. "I'm here to talk about what you want."

"You don't think I want Draco to wake up?" Asked Harry, frowning.

"I know that I've had to coax you into giving the bond a chance one step at a time. I know that you mentioned time and time again that you never asked for this life, and you very recently lost your friends and killed someone. It's been one thing happening after the next, and you haven't had a chance to slow down and think about what you want," said Lucius seriously. "I'm asking you to take a breath, step back, and think about what you want. You, not what we want from you, not what Draco wants from you."

"I want Draco to wake up," said Harry, blinking.

"We all do," said Lucius, sighing. "But think about it for a moment. All along, you've wanted the bond to dissipate. Now you have that. If Draco does wake up, there will be no going back. What I'm saying is, if you want an out, this is your chance."

"You're offering me an out?" Asked Harry. "I don't want an out. He's in a coma because of me. If I'd agreed to hide it out with him, none of this would have happened. But I was stubborn, I wanted to go face to face with Voldemort. I thought getting my revenge would be worth it, but nothing is worth this."

"Harry, no one blames you for what's happened to Draco. It was Voldemort who put him in that coma, not you. And I'm saying now that if you walk away from this, we'll understand."

"How can you say that?" Asked Harry, angry. "As his parent, how can you honestly say that? Draco deserves better than that. He doesn't deserve you standing here, telling me to walk away."

"I just want to know that if you do this, you're doing it because you want to, not because you feel obligated to," said Lucius warily.

"Look, I love him, alright?" Shouted Harry. "I know I hated it at first, and I resented Draco for it, but it changed. I stopped resenting him, and now I need to do this, and I don't need any outs."

"That's all I wanted to hear," said Lucius, closing his eyes. "I needed to know that you would do your very best, because giving a half-assed effort would have been worse than not trying. Narcissa and I are trusting you with this, Harry. Please don't let us down."

Harry felt himself deflate after Lucius left. There was immense pressure and responsibility on his shoulders. It was almost a relief to see Snape's short-tempered face as he walked in.

"Are we doing this?" He asked, ready to start.

"In a hurry, are we?" Asked Snape, raising his eyebrows.

"Just want to get it over with. It's too much pressure, not knowing if it'll work or not."

"Well, this part may not take long, but reviving Draco could take longer than you're anticipating. It's not an easy task, searching through a muddled subconscious."

"How long could it take?" Asked Harry.

"It will certainly take many tries," said Snape. "It could take anywhere between hours to days."

"So how will I know that I've failed?" Asked Harry.

"You'll know," said Snape cryptically. "This is something that is more common than you'd think, a bonded or wiccan accessing the other's subconscious to wake them up from a coma. It has been known to succeed, but in those cases that it has failed, it has been a clear failure."

"I don't understand what you mean by a clear failure. How do you know it's a failure?" Asked Harry again, not satisfied with the answer. "You said that if it fails, there'll be no hope and Draco will be passing on. I need to know exactly how to tell that I've failed or if I should keep trying."

"What I'm saying, Harry," started Snape, gentler than before. "Is that no one except you can say that you've failed. Essentially, you have failed when you decide that there is no point in trying anymore."

Harry paled, and sat down. It now made sense why Lucius had wanted to make sure that Harry really wanted to do this. If he only felt a vague obligation to try, he would get their hopes up, give up after a few tries, and crush them by walking away from any chances that Draco may have actually had. Snape sat down across from him, putting his hands on the table.

"I know this is a lot to take in. After all, you've only been bonded for less than a month, and your bond only settled two weeks ago. Now the fate of your bond and your wiccan's life rests in your hands. It's more than any newly bonded should be expected to do."

"I don't want to hear anyone else going on about what should and should not be happening to me," Harry broke in. "I've already heard about how a young person like me shouldn't have had to murder someone, and how I detested Draco and the bond and it would be understandable if I walked away. Let's just get this over with, because ultimately it's my choice and I want Draco back."

"Very well," said Snape, leaning forwards. "Give me your hands."

Harry did as instructed, and for the first time noticed the markings that had been made on the table between them.

"I made the preparations earlier today," explained Snape. "This shouldn't take very long. Close your eyes and try to relax."

Harry did so and waited, tensing slightly when the incantation started. It felt as if two needles had been pushed gently into his arms where Snape's hands were resting. A warm sensation filled him, much less intense than unlocking his magic had felt. It didn't take long before Snape released him, ending the incantation. Harry opened his eyes.

"Is that it?" He asked, looking down on his hands, which looked the same as before. No buzz of magic like the last ceremony, which was a good sign.

"Yes, I believe that should be enough magic for you to be a bonded again," said Snape, waving a hand over them.

The blue string appeared between them, and a faint golden string was starting to take shape. Harry could see the strands forming and solidifying, and couldn't help but feel relieved. Snape waved his hand again after the string was completely solid, making it disappear.

"Now that we know it worked, we will spend the next few hours teaching you how to tune into Draco's subconscious," said Snape.

Harry looked at him disappointedly. He wanted to go and do it, not sit here and read through books.

"If I don't teach you, how will you know what to do?" Asked Snape, sounding exasperated.

They spent the next hour with Snape teaching Harry how to control his subconscious mind in a relaxed state. Harry was supposed to enter a sleep-like state, but stay aware of his goal and not forget what he was supposed to achieve. It took a while, but when they were sure that his task of waking Draco was burned into his subconscious mind so that he wouldn't forget it in a dream, Snape finally showed him how to find a way into Draco's dreams.

"You have to reach for his mind through the bond," he said. "Subconsciously, so that your subconscious finds his. You have to remember to do this in your dreams, and your subconscious will find his."

When Snape was satisfied with Harry's understanding of the matter, he finally lead him back to Draco's room. Harry lay down next to Draco, even though his own gurney was still there, and whispered in his ear that he would find and bring him back no matter what it took. After that, everyone else left the room to give Harry space.

"I will monitor your subconscious from the next room," said Snape as he left. "To know if you are accessing his subconscious or not. If you fail to do so within an hour, I'll come back and wake you so you can try again."

Harry nodded and turned back to Draco. His heart was beating with the anticipation and possibility of succeeding in bringing Draco back, and it was hard to imagine that he could fall asleep. He tried to lull himself to sleep by thinking of something that would calm him down, as Snape had suggested. It had been easier to do so in their practices since he knew it was just an exercise. Knowing that there were three people monitoring him and that this was a serious matter that rested on him was nerve wracking.

He placed a hand around Draco and tried to slow his breathing to match his. It was reassuring to feel the bond between them again, he could feel Draco's presence, and the physical contact made him relax like it used to. It was so precious to have it back, he never would have thought that that would be a thought to ever cross his mind. Yet here he was, cherishing the bond, cherishing Draco's presence.

He felt himself relax further, and knew that it wouldn't be long till he fell asleep. It was tempting to let himself believe that everything was back to normal and that he'd wake up with Draco sprawled over him, making him take a shower with him, or gather ingredients for him, or something else Draco-like, but he was scared that falling asleep to thoughts like that would make him forget the reason behind why he was doing this.

He could almost hear Draco's laugh, his whiney voice. He could almost feel his playful touches. Lucius had been right, their bond hadn't been love at first sight, but it had been his destiny. He knew this as surely as he knew who he was. Draco was supposed to be with him, and he would succeed in bringing him back. He would never give up, even if it took him years of trying.

He fell further into the unconscious world, and was aware of searching for the bond, trying to feel it and through it feel Draco. He was aware of feeling the golden warmth of the bond, of feeling the light silvery presence behind it that must have been Draco, and he was aware of himself falling deeper and deeper asleep, and then he was completely out of it, and could only hope that his subconscious would remember to follow through.

In the next room, Snape smiled at seeing Harry's subconscious connect with Draco's.


	19. Dream a Little Dream of Me

Harry opened his eyes. He was in a dream, somehow of that he was certain. His eyes fell on a younger version of Draco, and in an instant he remembered that he was in Draco's subconscious mind. He was in a classroom, sitting at the back, and Draco was in front of the class, solving a math problem. For a second, Harry felt amused at the current dream. He knew that as a wiccan child, Draco had been homeschooled, and as such, the dream was only a fantasy that his mind had made up for him. This was pronounced by the unrealistic looking dining tables and chairs instead of the normal desks that schools had.

He felt relieved to know that Draco was just dreaming, that his mind was still working, that there was a chance for him to wake up. It felt good to see Draco in motion again.

Harry got up to go to Draco, and all the other younger children around him stared. The teacher scowled, and asked him to sit back down. Draco turned around to look at him, and his eyes shone with confusion.

"I asked you to sit down," the teacher repeated, sterner this time.

"You're just a dream," said Harry irritably. "I'm here for Draco, you can sit down."

Harry felt the teacher slap him across the face and looked at Draco accusingly. He was dreaming this up, it was his fault he'd just gotten slapped. It was alarming how real the slap had felt, but Harry wasn't backing down now.

"Make him stop, Draco," he said. "This is your dream. You control everything here."

The chalk fell from Draco's hand as he took a frightened step back.

"Do you know him?" The teacher asked Draco angrily.

"N-no sir," stammered Draco.

"Leave my classroom this very moment," the teacher said, turning to Harry sternly.

Harry groaned and moved towards the door, dragging the younger Draco out with him. He closed the classroom door on enraged shouts from the teacher and stepped into the shadowy hallway.

"Look, Draco, you remember me, right? It's Harry," he said, leaning down and looking Draco in the eyes. "You never went to school, you were homeschooled. You know that this is just a dream, don't you?"

"I don't know you. Get away from me!" Said Draco as he took a few hurried steps backwards and then turned to run.

Harry reached out a hand towards him, getting ready to chase him, when he felt a ripple go through him and he was thrown backwards. He was almost thrown completely out of Draco's subconscious, but managed to hold on with his strong will.

The dream setting had changed. Harry stared as his vivid memories of the bonding night came into life around him. He was once again in the snowy woods, but this time standing behind Draco over the barrel fire.

He watched as Draco nervously rubbed his hands together, presumably awaiting Harry's arrival.

"How did you know that I would come here that night?" He asked, making Draco jump.

Draco turned around in confusion. "Harry?"

"Yes, it's me," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "This is still a dream. You're dreaming all of this, Draco. This entire night happened a month ago. We bonded a month ago."

"A dream?" Asked Draco, looking confused.

"Yes, a dream," repeated Harry, looking into those eyes that he'd missed so much. "And now you have to wake up. You have to wake up, Draco."

"You're lying," said Draco, his eyes turning hard. "I don't feel a bond. You somehow found out about this and don't want to get bonded, so you're pulling a stunt, telling me that I'm dreaming."

Harry stepped forward and put both arms on Draco's shoulders. "I am bonded to you, you idiot. You're in a coma, dreaming endlessly. I came through our bond, connected to your subconscious with mine, to get you to wake up from the damn coma. So, wake up, because it's been lonely without you."

Draco stepped out of his hold, starting to panic. "You're lying, I'm not in a coma. This is just a nightmare."

Harry opened his mouth, but felt the ripple again before he could say anything. He was once again thrown back, but he was ready for it this time and his grip was stronger, so he wasn't thrown that far off. The dream changed once again, and now he was at the back garden of Malfoy manor, in the magical garden that bloomed at all times of the year. It was still winter, but the snow was starting to disappear. Draco was standing in front of the white poison hemlock.

Harry walked towards him, seeing the doubt in his eyes. "Do you remember that day, Draco? When I picked the white poison hemlock accidentally? And you banished my friends?"

"You again," said Draco, stepping back defensively.

"Yes, I'm following you from dream to dream," said Harry earnestly, needing to be believed. "I need you to remember, Draco. We bonded a month ago, and I picked the wrong flowers shortly after that. You have to remember, Draco. You have to believe me that you're dreaming, trapped in a coma, because I need you back. I need you back there with me."

"I don't believe you," spat Draco. "You're just a nightmare, and I don't want to have this nightmare anymore."

Harry felt Draco pushing him out and for the first time started to feel scared.

"Don't, Draco," he pleaded. "Don't throw me out. You have to hear me out. I love you. Please, I love you and you need to believe me. This is not a nightmare, I'm real, and I'm really here. If you push me out I can't help you; no one can help you."

Draco's image wavered in front of his eyes, and the dream disappeared once more. This time, however, nothing reappeared in its place, and there was no ripple. Harry looked around, but could see nothing but an expanse of black, stretching out on all sides and over his head. Draco was sitting down a few feet in front of him, hugging his feet to his chest.

"I'm trapped in a coma?" He asked, and Harry knew that this was his Draco, the real Draco underneath the dreams. This was the dreamer, the core.

"Yes," murmured Harry, moving to sit next to him. He gently put his arms around Draco and breathed him in. "Voldemort cut off our bond abruptly and the shock to your system was too great. You slipped into a coma and won't wake up."

"Our bond is gone?" Asked Draco in horror, looking up at him, hugging his legs harder.

"No, no," consoled Harry soothingly. "Snape donated some of his magic to me so I could be a bonded again and our bond is back in place. I just need you to wake up now so we can go back to how things used to be, okay?"

"I believe you," said Draco in hushed tones. "But I don't know how to wake up. I don't know how long I've been here, but I can't feel the bond, or my magic. I can't pull myself out of here."

"Just search for it, Draco. It has to be there, you'll feel it. It's how I got here, through the bond. Snape showed me how, he showed me how to relax into sleep but remember to look for you and wake you up."

"Did he tell you how to wake me up?" Draco asked, hopeful.

"No," said Harry, frowning. "I assumed once you knew you had to wake up then you'd just wake up."

"I can't, I've tried, and I can't," moaned Draco. "I'm stuck here, Harry. You have to go back and ask Snape. Ask him how I can wake up."

"I'm not leaving you here," said Harry, a tremor going through his voice. "I'm never leaving you again. What if I can't find you again? What if you won't remember me or that you're dreaming again? What if you don't believe me next time? It's too much of a risk, I won't do it."

"But what's the alternative?" Asked Draco, controlling his voice. "We can't both stay here, stuck for eternity. You need to help me wake up, and the only way to do that is for you to wake up and ask my parents and Snape for help."

"No," said Harry stubbornly, holding Draco closer. "I spent the past few days looking at your pale, unconscious body, begging you to wake up. I can't lose you, Draco. I have no one else. I'm not leaving until you can leave with me."

"And live in a dreamland?" Scoffed Draco. "I want to wake up, Harry. Let's have a safe word, okay? You come back and tell me the safe word, and I promise I'll take you seriously and listen to what you're saying instead of trying to fight you off like this time."

Harry closed his eyes and felt the very solid body of Draco in his arms. At the same time, he was aware that he wasn't really here, he wasn't really holding Draco. But did that matter? It felt real. It felt as real as anything had ever felt.

"Harry, please," begged Draco.

"Okay," said Harry, kissing his shoulder. "Okay."

"Our safe word will be 'heliotrope', agreed?" Asked Draco softly.

"Agreed," said Harry, resting his head on Draco's shoulder. "But let me stay with you until I wake up."

"Okay," said Draco, sighing. "I've been so alone here, Harry."

"I know, I know," said Harry, rocking Draco back and forth with him.

"What happened to Voldemort?" Draco asked Suddenly.

"He's dead," said Harry, tensing. "You don't need to worry about him anymore."

"Oh, Harry," said Draco, pulling both of them down.

They lay there, holding each other, for what felt like an eternity.

"You have to wake up soon," whispered Draco, running his hand through Harry's hair.

"But not now," said Harry. "Maybe in a while. I don't want to wake up yet."

"This isn't real, Harry," said Draco, sighing into his ear. "None of this is actually happening."

Harry turned around and pressed his lips against Draco's. He tasted the same, smelled the same, felt the same.

"Did that not feel real?" He asked, pulling back.

"It did, but that doesn't make it real," murmured Draco.

"Then, does this feel more real?" Asked Harry, leaning down to nibble on Draco's neck.

Draco sighed in pleasure, hand clutched in Harry's hair. He turned Harry around and climbed on top of him, kissing him with abandon. Harry smiled against Draco's lips, feeling joy in the shared intimacy. He'd yearned for this for so long. The last time they'd been this close had been weeks ago. It didn't matter that it was a dream, it was what they both wanted.

"You said you loved me," murmured Draco in between kisses. "When you were trying to convince me this was a dream, you said you loved me."

"I do," admitted Harry. With all the adrenaline rushing through him, it was an easy admission.

"God, do you remember how much you hated me at first?" Asked Draco, laughing softly, rolling off of Harry and lying next to him.

"Yeah," said Harry, smiling back at him.

"I'm glad you don't anymore," said Draco, looking up at the blackness overhead.

"Me too," said Harry, looking up too.

"I think we should have the talk," muttered Draco, his cheeks slightly coloured.

"Right now?" Asked Harry, raising his brows.

"Exactly right now," said Draco, rolling on his stomach to look at Harry. "We don't know if I'll get out of this coma, or if you'll be able to reach me again."

"Okay. What talk do you want to have?" Asked Harry, letting himself get lost in those silvery pools.

"About where our relationship is going," said Draco.

"That's the talk you want to have right now?" Asked Harry, laughing.

"Look, I'm sure you've been wondering about it too," said Draco, scowling. "I want to know what you're ready for and tell you what I'm ready for."

"And what's the point of talking about our future now?" Asked Harry, perplexed. "Let's get you out of the coma first."

Draco's scowl deepened. "Look, I'm trying to tell you that if you're ready to have sex, I'm all for it, and since we're in a dream, if we fool around, it'll be fine."

"So you wanted to have the sex talk," said Harry, trying not to laugh again. "I assumed that by how I was acting that night when we almost did it, you'd know I was ready too."

"You were drunk on magic at that point, you would have been ready for anything," grumbled Draco. "Now you've gone and ruined the whole mood."

"I ruined the mood?" Asked Harry playfully. "You're the one who decided to have a sex talk instead of just doing it."

"I didn't want to pressure you into things anymore," said Draco, smacking Harry on the shoulder.

Instead of replying, Harry closed the gap between them and started kissing him.

"Leave it to you to try and analyze our sex life," he mumbled clumsily, trying to get Draco's shirt off.

This time, Draco let him do it. Harry was on top, touching Draco, and feeling in charge. It felt good to know that Draco was letting him have his way and take control for once. At the shiver that went through Draco after Harry's soft touches, he lowered his head and let his tongue roll over Draco's nipple, paying him back for how he'd teased him that night. He was pleased to hear the gasp that escaped Draco.

He continued flicking his tongue back and forth, and used his hand to tease the other nipple simultaneously. Draco soon arched his back, his hands clutched in Harry's hair, moaning softly. He was pressing against Harry's leg which was in between his thighs, slowly hardening.

The desire was rushing through Harry's veins. It was hard to pace himself, but he had vowed to tease Draco as much as he had teased him that night. He slowly removed his leg from between Draco's thighs, and Draco moaned in disappointment. Harry looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"Who's in charge now?" Asked Harry.

"Just because I can't use the bond when we're dreaming to boss you around doesn't mean you get to tease me," said Draco, pouting.

"That is in fact exactly what it means," said Harry, giving Draco's pink nipple one last lick before completely rising off of him.

"Don't stop," said Draco with a gasp.

"I'm giving you incentive to remember me and wake up," said Harry, smiling from ear to ear.

"Does that mean you're going now?" Asked Draco, his eyes turning sullen.

"I think I need to," said Harry. "I don't know how long I've been here, but it's obvious that you're not waking up just by knowing that you have to wake up. I'll need to wake up and ask for help, like you said, but don't you dare disappear again, Draco. Wait for me till I come back, and together we'll wake you up."

"I'll be here, then," said Draco, trying to smile. "Come back for me, alright?"

Harry brushed a hand against his cheek, and then he was gone.


	20. Let Me Through

Harry was sitting at the desk in the storeroom with Snape once more. He'd been awake for a couple of hours now, but he was still feeling unusually groggy. According to them, he'd been asleep for four whole days. When he'd asked Snape why he hadn't woken him up, he'd been told that once their subconscious was connected, it would have been the most dangerous thing to jolt him awake.

They'd been more than happy when he'd woken up, but their disappointment had shone clearly through their eyes once they'd learned that Draco wouldn't be waking up with him. Now here he sat with Snape, who was trying to teach him how to use the little limited magic that he had to jostle Draco out of the coma.

"But I'm telling you that I'm done using magic," said Harry, gritting his teeth. "It has done nothing but cause disasters for me."

"Then there is no hope for Draco," said Snape, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"There must be another way," said Harry, eyes burning with stubbornness.

"There isn't," said Snape clearly. "You're the only one who has any sort of access to Draco's consciousness in his coma. You have to channel the small amount of magic that you have through him to help him pull himself out of there."

"What if it backfires?" Asked Harry.

"How can it possibly backfire?" Argued Snape.

"I don't know, but what if I somehow mess it up, and lose him because of it?" Pushed Harry.

"Unfortunately, that's a risk we have to take," said Snape solemnly. "If it's any consolation, your chances of success are much higher than failure. Right now, Draco is trapped and has no access to the bond or his magic. He should be able to use your magic to pull himself free."

"What about all the other cases?" Asked Harry. "You said that people had done this sort of thing before; pulled their partners out of a coma."

"In those cases, the person in the coma wasn't this far gone," stated Snape. "We were looking at the best-case scenario. Now we have to move on to plan B. We have to assume that once your magic is channeled to him, he'll be able to wake himself up."

"Like we assumed that once I found him and told him that he's in a coma, he'd wake up?" Asked Harry, gritting his teeth harder. "I don't want to know the best-case scenario right now. Tell me the worst-case scenario. Tell me about plan C."

"You already know plan C," said Snape, looking at Harry gravely. "If we fail to wake him up, and he cannot wake himself up, then there is no hope left."

"No," said Harry, barely restraining himself. "You said that I get to say when there is no hope left. You said that when I stop trying, that's when we give up. Your plan C, it's not good enough. I'm going back to Draco, and if I fail, you have to come up with something better than that, because I'm not done trying."

"Very well," said Snape, nodding carefully. "Now that you know how to channel your magic, there is nothing else for me to teach you at the moment. We'll be in the adjacent room, as before, monitoring your subconscious. I'm not sure that I can discuss the chance of failure with Lucius and Narcissa at the moment to come up with another plan, as they are more distressed and fragile right now than you seem to be. They need the optimism, so for God's sake, take that melancholic look out of your eyes."

Harry grumbled something intangible, but did try to smoothen out his expression. It was true that Narcissa had been devastated when he'd told them the news of Draco's situation. He couldn't afford to be upset, he had to be strong right now. He had to push away his panicked thoughts of losing Draco and instead focus on what Snape had taught him in the short amount of time they'd spent here, working on channeling his magic, and tell himself that it would work, that he'd make it work.

As he lay once more next to Draco, he wondered why everything had felt so real in the dream. The Draco that was now in his arms felt solid, smelled real, and compared to that, the Draco in the dream had been nothing but a faded echo. He closed his eyes, pressing himself close to Draco, praying that the next time he woke up it'd be to those blue silvery eyes, and that when he'd squeeze Draco's hand, he'd feel the squeeze returned.

It took him much longer than last time to drift off. He had drunk some lavender potion on Snape's orders, to calm himself down enough to go back to sleep again, and it took a while for him to feel its effects. It was hard to be going back to sleep after having been asleep for four days, but at the same time, he'd been struggling and fighting to remain in Draco's subconscious so much that he felt incredibly tired. Being tired was different from feeling sleepy however, and so he lay there for quite some time, his mind going over his possible futures. It was simply too hard to imagine a future without Draco, but his chances of bringing him back seemed to be getting slimmer and slimmer.

He wasn't aware of falling asleep, but when he was suddenly in the storeroom, he knew that he must have fallen asleep at some point. He had to trust that his body had succeeded in connecting to Draco's subconscious, and sure enough, he could hear Draco's frantic speech as his outline appeared from behind one of the many tall and well-stacked shelves.

Harry took a step forward, a smile on his lips, but stopped when he saw the worry on Draco's face. He was clutching their bonding jar to his chest, which was filled with nothing but a pile of ashes.

"The heliotrope," Draco was muttering. "Who took the heliotrope?"

"Draco," said Harry cautiously.

"You," said Draco, eyes widening. "You took it, didn't you?"

"I didn't take anything, Draco," said Harry, frowning. "Listen to me, do you remember that I was just here? Do you remember the talk we just had about you being in a coma?"

"It's not enough that you stole the heliotrope, you want to put me in a coma as well?" Asked Draco, stepping backwards, shielding the jar.

"What?" Asked Harry, confused. "No, Draco, remember? We were talking and you said you'd remember, you said the safe word was heliotrope, that when I came back after finding a way to wake you up and told you that word, that you'd remember and believe me."

"You're not the real Harry, are you?" Asked Draco, not understanding. "You're just another nightmare, here to steal my heliotrope."

Harry shook his head and tried to put a hand on Draco. He felt the by now familiar ripple, and knew that Draco was going to fight him again and try to throw him out. He groaned at having to go through the same ordeal, trying to convince Draco that he was real. The safe word hadn't worked; if anything, it had made things worse.

"Look, listen to me," he shouted, but to no effect. It was getting harder to hold on as the ripple was growing stronger, pushing him further away. He sighed and held on with all his strength. It seemed that he had to go through this again step by step.

This time, Draco was frantic and more suspicious than he'd been the time before. Harry took a deep breath as he rode out the ripple for the fifth time. He didn't feel any closer to convincing Draco of the reality. If anything, his persistence was only succeeding in pushing Draco further away and scaring him more. He remembered Snape's words, that they had to assume that Draco would be able to pull himself free once he had access to Harry's magic. Did Draco need to be convinced first? Or could Harry just channel his magic to grant Draco access to it and he'd simply understand the situation and wake up?

It seemed his only chance; it felt like he'd been failing forever, as he felt the ripple go through him again for the umpteenth time. He had to try channeling his magic through Draco to force him to feel the bond and have a hold on the world outside again. Draco's subconscious was fighting hard, and Harry was scared that if he failed this time too there would be no third try. It was getting harder to keep a foot firmly in Draco's subconscious who was fighting to push him out.

He closed his eyes, concentrated on Draco, and felt around for the edges of the bond. Once he felt the golden warmth of them, he pushed the small magic inside him through it, towards Draco. The connection felt blocked off, but Harry concentrated and pushed harder, until whatever was blocking him off fell away, and his magic flowed right into Draco.

He felt the subconscious around him stop struggling and everything was quiet for a moment. He watched the dream Draco blink, turn to look at him, and then at his hands. He knew that the magic was nowhere near how strong Draco's own magic must have been, but after being disconnected from it, even this small amount must have felt significant. He stepped tentatively closer to the dream Draco, hoping to be believed now, but gasped in surprise as he felt himself being pushed out again. This time the push was violent and much stronger than it had been before, now that it had the strength of magic behind it as well.

He felt himself thrown away with an almost physical blow. He knew he was still in Draco's mind, but now he was much further away than where he needed to be. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was, trying to see a way back closer to the core. He was startled to hear children laughing, and turned around. He could see two girls, one about a foot taller than the other, chasing each other and laughing. He took slow steps in their direction, trying to figure out if this was a memory or another dream.

"Daddy!" The older girl called, giggling, as she opened her arms and flew at Harry.

Harry stood there in shock, looking down at her long dark hair, feeling those small arms around him.

"I'm not your Father," he said cautiously, trying to peel her off. "Can you tell me where Draco is?"

"He's cooking for us," said the smaller girl as she came closer and put her arms around him as well. "You were gone such a long time, Daddy."

Harry let them pull him into the house that stood before them, realizing that this must have been a dream about their future. He looked in wonder at the two girls that held his hands and pulled him along happily. He'd never thought about this sort of future with Draco. He'd thought about things that any sixteen-year-old would have thought about, not marriage and children.

They turned into the kitchen and Harry's eyes fell upon an older looking Draco standing over the stove. He was greeted with a bright smile and felt his uneasiness slip away.

"Draco," he murmured.

"We found Daddy," said the older girl, holding the smaller one's hand and pulling her to the table. "Can we eat now?"

"Harry?" Draco asked, looking at him with confusion. "You're much younger than I always imagine you to be when I think of our future."

"That's because I'm the real Harry," Harry said, feeling hopeful. "You can see that, Draco, right? You're dreaming, and I've connected to your subconscious."

"That would explain it," said Draco, putting some spaghetti in their daughters' bowls. "But what are you doing here? I'm not a dream, I'm the active imagination."

"I was thrown here," said Harry, sighing. "I'm having a hard time convincing your subconscious of the reality."

"Very well," said the older Draco. "I'll take you there. Come on."

Harry promptly followed, leaving the girls at the table. He didn't think the situation could turn any stranger. They went through a brightly lit door which took them to a playground where an even younger version of the girls were swinging in, and then through another door and another until they went back enough to where the younger Draco must have been.

"I know he can be stubborn," said the older one. "But put up with him, would you? He does love you very much."

Harry looked at him sideways. He was unsure of how to act in front of this older and wiser looking Draco whom he had daughters with. He was saved from a reply as his eyes fell upon the dreaming Draco once more.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking at the older one accusingly. "And what is he doing with you?"

"You're being difficult, Draco," the older Draco said. Harry looked from one to the other, seeing the little differences. "You have to believe what he's saying."

"You're the hopeful and optimistic one," said Draco, frowning. "You'd believe anything."

"Do you always dream him like this?" Asked the older Draco, pointing at Harry. Harry looked down at himself warily. "You always dream him unrealistically, right? There's no glasses when you dream him, for example. And his hair is always longer, and isn't he mostly naked?"

Harry watched in amusement as the younger Draco blushed. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Look, I know it's scary to wake up and be in the real world," said the older Draco soothingly. "I know now that you have the choice to be safe and dreaming all the time it must seem wonderful, but if you don't wake up I will never exist. Your future with Harry will never exist."

"When I wake up, I won't exist anymore," said the dreaming Draco, letting his eyes fall down. "I don't want to give up the control."

"You will always exist," said the future Draco. "Every time we sleep, you'll exist. But this is selfish. Let him through."

"Fine," said the dreaming Draco, pouting.

All at once, everything around him disappeared. Harry was faced with the never-ending expansion of black once more. He sighed in relief. He was at the core again.


	21. Serenity

"So, daughters, huh?" He asked, stepping closer to the real Draco, a smirk visible on his lips.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Draco, looking at him suspiciously. "And what took so long?"

"I'm talking about your active imagination dreaming up a future for us in which we live in a big house and have two daughters," said Harry, his smile widening as Draco grew more uncomfortable with each passing word. "It took me a while to get to you because your subconscious wasn't letting me through. I got the older Draco's help to get through the younger one."

"Sounds complex," said Draco, motioning Harry to sit beside him. "Why don't you tell me all about it after we've woken up. You did find a way to wake me up, I trust?"

"Of course," said Harry, sitting down. "Wouldn't be here if I didn't."

He clenched his hands; his magic was back within him. After the dream Draco had used it to push him away, his magic had flown back into him. He told Draco of the plan, and closed his eyes to concentrate on pushing his magic to the real Draco this time.

"No, wait," said Draco, stopping him.

"Why?" Asked Harry, frowning at him.

"We know that this will wake me up, correct?" Asked Draco, eyes bright.

"We are somewhat certain, yes," said Harry, crossing his arms.

"So what's the rush?" Asked Draco, a playful smile appearing on his face.

"Other than waking up and relieving your parents?" Asked Harry, blinking at him.

"Oh, spoil the mood, why don't you?" Asked Draco, pouting sullenly.

"Draco, what could be more important than waking up?" Asked Harry reasonably.

"Sex," said Draco, looking at Harry seriously. "This is our chance to have sex without any real implications scaring us away. It's a dream, which means we'll get all of the fun and none of the discomfort. It also means we can keep going for as long as we want to without getting tired since we're asleep and don't even need to take bathroom or snack breaks. You teased me to the edge of insanity last time and then disappeared, and I'm not letting that happen again."

"I see that you've really thought it through," said Harry, raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing else to do here," said Draco, shrugging.

"So you've been here, day dreaming about fucking me?" Asked Harry, moving closer.

"Yes," said Draco, leaning down so Harry could move even closer. "Or you fucking me, I don't discriminate."

"Then let's make those dreams a reality, shall we?" Asked Harry, biting Draco's shoulder, as his shirt seemed to have disappeared.

"You'll still have to make them a reality when we actually wake up," said Draco, pulling weakly on Harry's hair.

Harry moved on to biting his lips to muffle the words.

"I'm surprised you're letting me be in charge," he whispered, licking a long stripe on the side of Draco's neck, who shivered in response. "You've always loved having that control over me."

"It's good to delegate some responsibility," said Draco, writhing under him as Harry's fingers found his nipples once more.

"No, I think you want me on top," murmured Harry into his ear. "I think you want me to do anything I want to you."

"I do," moaned Draco. "I do."

Harry opened his mouth to say all the dirty things that he would do to Draco, and then closed it again. The truth of the matter was that he hadn't gone further than a kiss with anyone before. With Draco, there had been teasing, but he'd only been confident in what he'd been doing because Draco had done the same thing to him before. Beyond that, he felt completely out of his depth.

Draco felt his hesitation and looked up into his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I've never done this before," admitted Harry, suddenly feeling shy, and biting his lower lip.

Draco pulled him down so that they were laying side by side. He turned sideways to face him and gave him a smile.

"It's alright. I won't push you into anything, even if this is just a dream," he reassured.

"It's not about that," said Harry, shaking his head. "I want to. I just, I just don't know what to do."

"You want me to take charge?" Asked Draco, his face lighting up.

Harry nodded silently, and Draco moved on top of him. He was giving up the control of his own free will this time, and that made all the difference. Draco was gentler than ever before, and in a matter of minutes they both forgot that this was a dream and not real. Harry shivered under every touch, which caressed his skin with such care as if he were immeasurably delicate and invaluable. He felt completely loved and absolutely cherished.

* * *

It was a positively warm day when Harry opened his eyes to the world; which was how he knew he'd been asleep for longer than he'd thought. The windows were left open and the flowery smell of spring filled the room. It was disconcerting to hear birds chirping and feel the sunlight dance on his skin after being in the black expanse with Draco for so long.

"I'd forgotten how loud everything was in the real world," mumbled Draco next to him.

Harry turned to look at him, who was waking up next to him. They were alone, and he was tempted to lean down and kiss him. At the sound of footsteps, they both turned to look at the door.

"Draco," gasped Narcissa, who was the first to step through the door. "You're awake."

"Mother," said Draco, his voice soft.

Harry shifted uncomfortably as Narcissa leaned over him to hug Draco.

"I knew you'd wake up," she murmured. "I knew it."

"It's been three weeks," said Snape dryly, following Narcissa into the room. "What took so long?"

Harry shrunk under the glare that was directed his way. "It's complicated."

"It doesn't matter, Severus," said Lucius as he entered the room, clapping Snape on the back. "They're back with us."

Harry looked up at Snape's solemn expression. He felt somewhat indebted to the man; he had been able to bring Draco back and restore their bond because Snape had donated some of his magic to him and taught him how to connect to Draco's subconscious to wake him up. But Snape was still acting the same as always, and so it was easy for Harry to slip back to how he always treated him instead of acting grateful.

After Narcissa finally let go of Draco, Harry moved to stand.

"Slowly, you've been sleeping for a long while," cautioned Lucius.

"Oh, let him get hurt," said Snape nonchalantly. "He's been making me monitor him for three weeks straight, wondering every day if both of them are now lost. He deserves what he gets now."

Harry and Draco exchanged a look.

"That was my fault," said Draco, pausing. "The delay."

"Care to elaborate?" Asked Snape, narrowing his eyes.

Harry frowned and looked down at his feet. Draco cleared his throat. How did one admit to having sex for weeks on in a dream because it just felt that good?

"Not particularly," replied Draco.

"Well, let's go for some fresh air, shall we?" Asked Narcissa, effectively changing the subject.

Harry was in the bathroom when he realized that his scar was gone. He'd been staring at himself, trying to justify getting so carried away in Draco's dream that they'd spent three weeks there, when he noticed the sudden absence. It must have disappeared after Voldemort's death. All at once, he recalled that he'd killed a man. It had simply slipped his mind. For the past weeks, as he'd struggled with bringing Draco back, lost in his subconscious, he'd completely forgotten about the fact that he was a killer now.

He staggered out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Asked Draco the moment he saw the wretched expression on Harry's face.

"H-he's," stammered Harry. "He's dead- because of me."

Draco hushed him, jumping forward to hold him in his arms.

"I killed him," moaned Harry, shaking uncontrollably, struggling against the comfort that Draco was trying to offer.

"Hey, it's alright," said Draco, using a soothing voice. "You were trying to do the right thing."

"No, I wasn't!" Said Harry, breaking down completely. "I was trying to avenge my parents."

"He was a bad man," reasoned Draco. "You're still the same Harry. The fact that that happened doesn't change anything."

"I'll always wonder if I'll be capable of doing it again. I killed once, so why not again? I feel the darkness in me, I've acknowledged its existence, I've given it so much power," sobbed Harry.

Draco didn't reply, only held Harry closer, and closed his eyes, breathing in. Harry felt a warmth flow through him, and the strange sensation was enough to make him pause in his self-condemning speech.

"What are you doing?" He asked, somewhat more composed than before.

"Our bond has fully settled now," said Draco. Harry could feel his smile against his cheek. "Now that we've consummated the bond. This means that we can enjoy the benefits of a full fledged bond. One of the things we can do now is communicate with our emotions. What you're feeling is the emotion that I'm currently feeling, which is complete trust with you being filled with light and incapable of any other actions that contradict it."

Harry hummed and stayed there, letting the emotion run through him over and over.

"We shouldn't have indulged so much in the dream," he said, feeling a blush creeping up his neck. "Your parents and Snape were worried."

"Yes, but wasn't it worth it?" Said Draco, grinning. "I mean, I enjoyed myself."

"No, I did too," said Harry quickly. "But three weeks, Draco."

"Think of it as a honeymoon before the honeymoon," said Draco, shrugging. "I'm not saying that our happiness was more important than their worry, but I honestly didn't think it had been such a long time as three weeks. Did you?"

"No," said Harry. "But then again, I was too busy being thoroughly fucked to keep track of the time."

"If you're being vulgar, is it safe to assume you're feeling better?" Asked Draco with a smirk.

"I guess," said Harry with a sigh. "I feel like I need to pay for what I've done. I took a man's life, Draco."

"And he took many other lives," argued Draco.

"That doesn't justify anything," said Harry, shaking his head.

"Look, I'm sure you'll spend the rest of your life regretting it and trying to make up for what you've done, right?" Said Draco. After a nod from Harry, he continued, "So stop worrying about it. Just be content with that resolution."

"Fine," muttered Harry. "But if a meteor crashes the manor, I'll know I deserved it and that it was my fault."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine. Now let's go to the garden to meet up with them or Mother will freak out again."

Harry smiled when his eyes fell on the white oak tree. With their bond restored, he could once again see its familiar form.

"You've seen too much darkness from magic," Draco told him. "Now it's time to show you some good."

Harry looked at him quizzically as he went to stand in front of the white tree but a few feet to its right.

"You can't be meaning to do the bonding growth?" Asked Narcissa, stepping forward. "Your bond has not been consummated yet."

"Actually, it has," said Draco, controlling his expression.

"When?" Asked Narcissa, confused, but with a scoff from Snape, some understanding flooded into her eyes. "Three weeks, Draco!"

"Indeed," said Snape, a small smirk on his lips.

Harry felt himself redden. Must they speak of their sex life so openly? As Draco motioned him forward, he went to stand behind him.

"We'll be doing our first ritual together," said Draco, smiling fondly. "It's called the bonding growth. We'll use the strength of our bond to achieve this. If you remember how my Father was the anchor to Mother in the ritual we used before to unlock your magic, you'll know where to stand and what to do. Just concentrate on pushing your magic to me, and keep the connection open."

"Okay," said Harry, feeling a rush of excitement and wariness at the same time, and did as instructed.

As his magic flowed into Draco, musical words left Draco's lips. Harry watched in amazement as the words shaped in different colours, going into the ground in front of them. The change was instantaneous. One minute, there was nothing there, and the next, a small tree was starting to form in front of his eyes. He watched in wonder as it grew taller until it was bigger than even the ancient looking white oak tree.

After the ritual came to a close, they all stood for a few more minutes, looking at the large tree in wonder.

"White pine," murmured Draco. "It symbolizes serenity."

"You have a strong bond," said Lucius, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Do you remember the time I told you that you'd understand what I mean about it not all being in the wiccan's control?"

"I do," said Harry, lowering his head in acknowledgement, holding Draco's hand, and feeling like the most serene person in the entire world.


	22. Epilogue

Harry held on tight to Draco's hand as they stood in the middle of the snow in the backyard of the manor. It had been ten years ago exactly when he'd been wrapped comically in his oversized winter clothes, unknowingly heading into the woods to share the fire of a stranger. Now, he had his husband's magic to share and keep warm. Over the years, it had become their tradition to come out into the snow on their bonding anniversary, which had also been their marriage anniversary for the past five years, and sit under their bonding tree, the white pine, and speak fondly of the past. They laughed over how silly they had been, trying to fight their fate, and how stubborn and uncompromising their relationship had been.

He looked up as their daughter, Lily, shouted for their attention.

"It is a very nice snowman," they told her, as she showed off her creation.

At the age of three, she was already independent and adventurous. It was a very strange experience for Harry, raising a wiccan. Her magic shaped around her in different ways, almost a constant companion, and together they got up to all kinds of mischief. They had adopted her through a blood binding when she'd been born, which kept her own characteristics but shaped her appearance to look like a mixture of himself and Draco. She had Harry's dark hair, but on him it was messy and on her it shaped into elegant curls. She also had his dark eyes, but she had Draco's features which made her look small but determined to always have her way.

Harry smiled as he saw Snape show Lily how to ask her magic to shape snow balls and throw them around. They'd asked him to be the godfather after they'd seen how protective and fond of her he was. They were still living at the manor with Narcissa and Lucius, they had never quite recovered from losing Draco to that long coma. They'd wanted to keep him close and asked them to live in the manor instead of getting a house of their own. They'd agreed; after all, They both loved it here and raising a child in such a house was all they could have dreamed off. Having been raised as a lonely child, Harry wanted Lily to be surrounded by as much of her loving family as possible.

In fact, there was already talk of adopting a second child, something that had been demanded by Lily and was still being discussed by her parents. The only regret that Harry still carried with him was the loss of Ron and Hermione's friendship. He had tried approaching them, to start a new friendship, but they had seemed confused and irked by his presence. Snape had told him that this would happen when people were confronted with the subject of their memory wipe, as the brain was trying to remake the connection it once had but couldn't find anymore. Once these fears had been realized, Harry had had no choice but to only observe his lost friends from a distance. He was thrilled for them when they got married, and watched with an eternal sadness as they raised their own daughter, his dreams of their children growing up together a reality that would never come true.

After all, a wiccan child could not be around a human child as they could not control their magic or understand why others could not see and enjoy their magic. Instead of teaching the children to conceal that part of themselves, they let the child grow with other wicca until they were old enough to be able to control their magic and understand why others were not able to see and know of their magic.

Thinking back to all those years ago, sacrificing his old life had seemed a much bigger sacrifice than it did now. Harry was as in love with Draco as ever, and he knew that this was the life meant for him. He completely belonged here, with Draco, with Lily, with Narcissa and Lucius who loved him as his own parents would have, and even with Snape. He never would have thought that one day he'd think this way and accept this strange life, but now it was all he could think of having. He smiled fondly at Draco's faraway look that matched his own; on this day they were always reminiscing of the old days. Usually they lost themselves in the swirl of life and being a parent which was always a demanding job, but on this one day they allowed themselves to look back at what used to be to appreciate what now was.

Harry leaned in to Draco's hold and his smile widened. Even after ten years, the passion burned between them. They needed each other's touch like oxygen, and Harry thanked the universe every single day for pulling them together.


End file.
